Reunion
by Jhessill
Summary: Two former X-Men are invited to a class reunion, but has reality made them ill prepared for the challenge that awaits them? Something my cousin and I drummed up after meeting again a decade after our last joint story. Please, no flames. It's just for fun.
1. Chapter 1

Reunion

Reunion

Disclaimer: X-Men characters and settings are property of Marvel and their respective owners. Renegade, Talon, and all other original characters are joint property of me and Leslie Brown and may not be used without our permissions.

* * *

The street was quiet. The sun was barely up as a rather large square platform settled on the pavement beside a row of mailboxes next to a block of town homes. Three people dressed in street clothes jumped to the ground. The youngest of the three, who appeared to be of Chinese descent, looked up at the woman with white hair and dark skin.

"Are you sure this is the place?" he asked nervously.

The woman fingered a rumpled bit of paper. "How should I know, Ice? This is the address. If we don't hurry the real mailman is going to come and our goose'll be cooked."

The third member of the group, a skinny blue-furred man looked warily around.

"You might want to drop that letter already. There's a UPS truck three blocks away."

The boy's eyes widened and he bolted toward the row of mailboxes. At that moment, a small woman with dark brown hair emerged from her house carrying a long white cane.

The white-haired woman stiffened and looked toward her. "Well, Ice, this is the right address. We'd better make tracks before she hears us."

The blue-furred young man smiled, his eyes shifting to the woman. "Hey! Not bad. I mean let's go!" at that precise instant, the UPS truck made the turn into the complex and roared toward them. The Chinese boy lunged toward the mailboxes and forced the letter into the still locked door just enough so that it wouldn't be on the ground and then bolted for the platform which rose into the air.

"What was that?" the woman mumbled as she moved toward the mailboxes.

"Hey!" yelled the driver of the truck. "You might wanna let me take a look at that. I just saw some aliens take off from here like they was in a God awful hurry."

The woman paused. "Uh, are you okay?"

"Yeah. A'course I am. You didn't know the earth was bein' envaded? They's everywhere, everywhere I tell ya! Last week I saw this woman buy five eight-packs of D batteries. Now who needs that many D batteries? She drinks'em I tell ya. That's what she does with'em. Oh, and just last week I saw one'a them circles in my yard."

The woman cleared her throat and elbowed her way past him to get at her mailbox.

"Sir, I'm not worried about aliens. If they want me they can come and get me. I've learned most of them have better sense than we do. Besides, I've got a job interview in half an hour and I really don't have time for your story."

The man just stared at her as she approached the box and took out her keys.

"Don't touch that letter!" he yelled from behind her as she reached out to unlock the box.

At last, she turned to face him. "Sir, if you don't get away from me!" she reached out and let her hands brush the letter, a puzzled expression on her face. Instantly, years of former training came into play and she paused. What if the letter wasn't really a letter? She carefully felt the edge of the envelope, and shrugged. "There's a CD in here." She mumbled. Finally, she decided the letter was safe and pulled it from the mailbox and retrieved the rest of her mail.

"Ma'am? If you could, tell me what them aliens said to you."

The woman sighed and turned for her house. "Now who'd be sending me CDs?" she mumbled. "Maybe it's just one of those stupid AOL demos."

A few minutes later, she sat speechless, staring at her computer. "Okay, so the Institute for Higher Learning's class of nineteen eighty nine is having a reunion? Great. Don't they know all the genetic junk's been boiled out of my blood now?" she sighed. "Oh who cares? I'm sure everybody'll be glad to see me. Gees, I wonder who's left? I think I'll call Jessica and see if she got one. This should be interesting with two Wildcats. Maybe they meant her instead of me. It wouldn't hurt to see."

Elsewhere:

"Matthew Ian, Carole Vera, I want the both of you to stop your nonsense and play together nicely. If you don't…" the blue eyed female sighed heavily in her hands and shook her head at the wall. She was hunched over a stack of papers… most of them scattered in an organized case of chaos. "Mommy needs only a few more minutes to get this done and then we can go to the park."

"PARK!" came the unison shouts from the living room.

Jessica groaned again and stood up. All of Cyclops' Danger Room sessions were a breeze compared to the challenges of motherhood and the "real world", as it were. Her novels were going nowhere and she was starting to develop a headache from trying to push her stubborn muse into action. A few more minutes of pushing and listening to the two fighting, she gave in. "All right. Find your shoes and coats and we'll head out now. Mommy's going to check the mail. Make sure your room is picked up before you get your coats on."

"Okaaaaaaaaaay," came the expected reply.

As she reached the mailbox, Jessica found herself pausing at the edge of the road. That's odd, she thought. I haven't smelled him in years. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area; her hearing sharpening a bit as she let a bit of her former self come to surface. All right, I've been watching too much of those poorly made X-Men movies. I'm starting to get paranoid. She 'returned' to herself and turned to the mailbox… silently thanking her lucky stars that she had before the hot-rodding motorcyclist roared by. With a quick flick, she opened the mailbox and grabbed a handful of envelopes. "Bill, bill, bill," she sighed, scanning through them as she crossed the road again. She stopped suddenly. "Not a bill…" she mumbled as she opened a letter from the Institute. "A reunion? Who has time for one of these?" Shaking her head again, the brown haired mother of two walked into her home and laid everything on the table just inside the door.

Later that evening, when the minions were in bed, Jessica pulled out a worn trunk from the back of her oversized closet. Of course, she had to throw off several blankets and some old posters, but what was most difficult was finding the key that went with it. After almost an hour of digging through every nook, cranny, and drawer she had, she successfully raised a small silver key into the air from her spot on the ground. "Finally," she breathed, inserting the key into the lock and opening the trunk… whose hinges groaned in protest. It seems that it had been quite happy to never have been opened again. Inhaling sharply, Jessica began to shift through the memories. "The pieces of the search-and-find, my old stasis device, Aardvark's food bowl, a class picture… hey! Talon's in here. I wonder if she got one of these letters." Stretching the crick out of her back, Jessica grabbed her cell phone and dialed.

"Hello?" came a bored voice on the other end.

"Hi, Cousin. I've got a question."

The voice paused. "Jess, come on. We haven't spoken for almost seven years and the best you can come up with is 'I have a question'?"

Jessica paused. "Well if you'd answer the question, we might have a normal conversation."

Leslie sighed. "Okay then, what's the question already?"

"Did you get a letter in your mailbox from the IOHL this morning?"

There was a long pause. "Yes. I did."

"Are you going?"

Leslie laughed. "Uh, let's see. I handed in my teleporter and all my gear and I'm by myself in this apartment with…"

At that moment a disembodied voice floated across the room from downstairs.

"Hello? Hello? Are you receiving me?"

"What was that?" Jessica asked.

"I, don't, know." Leslie said. Jessica could hear by the sound of her footsteps that she was on her feet and moving stealthily toward the landing at the top of her stairs.

"Helllloooo?" called the voice. "You've gotta be there. The GPS of the letter indicates that it's inside your house."

"Uh, Jess?" Leslie said nervously. "I think Big Brother's found me. I'm not sure if I should go down there."

"Is it a person?" Jessica asked.

Leslie sighed. "No. I'm still the only one here but my television is talking and I know it's not on because that's my roommate's set and I don't know how to use the remote."

"Be careful, Talon." Jessica said as she could hear Leslie descending the stairs.

"Hello?" Leslie called.

"Hello?" answered the Television. "Something's wrong. I still can't see you."

"There might be a good reason for that." Leslie said. "What if I don't want you to see me?"

There was a pause and the voice cleared its throat. "Then we might have a little problem. If I can't see you I can't get you in range, and if I can't get you in range…"

Suddenly, Jessica broke in. "Oh! Talon, I don't know who that is but, I know what they're trying to do."

Leslie stopped in the small doorway between the bottom of the stairs and her living room. "Okay. What are they doing?"

"They did the same thing to me when I was a baby. Mom told me about it. They teleported me using the television."

Leslie laughed. "Uh yeah. I don't want to end up like that guy on _Timeline_ who got turned inside out by being teleported using the fax machine principle. I think I'm happy with my heart inside my chest, not out of it."

"I assure you, you have nothing to worry about." Jessica said. "Just walk in front of the TV with everything you need for the trip and wait."

Talon sighed. "Okay but if my foot ends up in Frankfurt and my eyes end up in Ireland my mouth will be blaming you."

"Ha, ha." Jessica said. "Just do it."

Leslie sighed. "Right. Well, I suppose I need to end this call now or I'll get torn into pieces by the conflicting signals."

"I'll come when Andrew gets home." Jessica said.

Leslie was confused. "Andrew? Who's Andrew?"

"Never mind. I'll fill you in later." With that they hung up.

"Okay." Leslie said to the television. "I'm coming. What do I need to bring with me?"

"Nothing yet." said the voice. "I need to get a look at you to see if Cerebro has your facsimile in the system." Leslie stepped in front of the television. "Yeah!" said the voice. "You're the woman from this morning. This is going to be sweet… I mean no. You're the right person. Mr. Summers was talking like he wanted to speak with you and someone called Renegade. You might want to plan on spending the night. Several maybe. Then I could meet… I mean then he can discuss what he needs to discuss with you."

Leslie paused. "Who are you?" she asked nervously.

"Ummmmm, the future love of your life? No. I'm kidding. I'm Furball."

Talon sighed. "If you don't quit with the flirtatious remarks I'll be changing your name to hairball and coughing you up."

"Ouch! Okay. I'm sorry. A standard issue overnight bag should be enough."

Five minutes later, a bit dazed but otherwise unharmed, Talon stood in the large entrance hall of the Institute of Higher Learning. There were people everywhere, but none of them seemed to know she was there.

"Um did that guy's teleport malfunction and make me invisible or what?" she mumbled.

"You might not want to make a habit of talking to yourself. People might wonder about you." said a soft voice with a German accent.

Talon's heart leapt and she whirled around. "Night crawler! Hi! What's happening?"

"A lot. Would you like an agenda? I'm supposed to be handing them out to all the alumni. Let's see. Doctor McCoy gave me two Braille ones. Let me see if I can find them." He mumbled, digging through a large sack of little booklets. "Yes. Here's one."

Talon paused. "Who's the other one for?"

Nightcrawler shrugged. "I don't know. You were part of the class of eighty nine not me."

Talon took the nine-page booklet and scanned it cursorily. "Okay. This is going to be interesting."

Back with Jessica:

The door to the bedroom creaked a bit as Andrew tried to creep into the room. Jessica let him think she hadn't heard him as she lay there listening to her headphones. He had always asked her why she listened to it on the lowest setting and here she was about to tell him why. Lifting her eyes to him as he leaned in to plant a kiss on her head, Jessica smiled at him. "Hey, handsome," she said.

"Hey, baby," he said. His deep bass voice rippled through the room at a low rumble. "How was your day?"

"Interesting," Jessica replied as she popped her earbuds out of her ears. "I got a reunion invitation for my old class and I was thinking of going."

"That's great," Andrew replied, lying on the bed next to her. "When is it?"

"This weekend," she replied nervously. "They had a bit of trouble tracking me down and I finally got the invitation today. I laughed when I saw the dates, but I really want to go."

Andrew shook his head in disbelief. "This weekend? What school is it?"

"I trust you completely, Andrew," she said hesitantly. "And I hope you can forgive me for not telling you earlier. Well, you know how I kept joking that I wasn't exactly human?"

The wiry male nodded his head. "Yeah, I do. You told me just yesterday."

"Yeah, well, it's true. I'm not human. I'm a mutant." Jessica shifted her form, eyes closed in fear, until she was half human, and half panther. When she opened her eyes, now a green in color, she saw her lover with a shocked expression on his face. She couldn't help the mournful expression that crossed her face/muzzle at his reaction. Shifting back, she turned to leave the room. "At least let the kids stay the night and then we'll be gone."

Andrew shook his head clear, practically leaping off the bed to stand next to her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you think you're going?"

Her head hanging, Jessica shook her head in defeat. "Your expression said it all, darlin'."

Chuckling, Andrew lifter her off her feet and tossed her gently on the bed. "You still can't read people, baby. I am… surprised, but you being half cat doesn't change anything. I'm not throwing you out." He crawled next to her, covering them both with the lighter of the two furry blankets. "Did Jackie know?" he murmured sleepily.

"No, I never told him."

"Good."

Jessica smiled to herself as she drifted off to sleep, images of the Institute and all her former colleges rolling through her head. She made a mental note to call Talon in the morning.

Two days later:

Jessica mashed her teleport button, antiquated as it was, even though the current hand was raised in a farewell wave. She watched her family dematerialize from in front of her and the familiar scene that was the Institute of Higher Learning appeared before her eyes. It hadn't changed much, but it wasn't exactly as she had last left it. She had left it a little smaller. It had grown a little. Sighing, she looked around for a familiar face.

"Thought you weren't comin', kid," grunted a harsh voice from her left.

Spinning around, Jessica smiled. "For a moment, so did I, Logan."

"You stayin' the whole weekend?"

"Yeah, I am. Where are the others?"

"Inside. I had a feelin' you were comin'. Them kids o' yours must be a handful if they're anything like their mother."

Jessica heard the smirk in his tone and nodded. "They're manageable, considering they're dad."

"Heard that didn't end well."

"No, but the current one seems well enough. I've already told him what I am. He's ok with it and I smelled no deceit on him."

Logan grunted, his claws sliding out of their sheaths briefly. "Well, if this one becomes a problem, you know where I am."

Jessica nodded. "Yeah, I always have, Logan. It's good to know that some friends never fade."

Throwing an arm around the female, Logan pulled her to his side. "Com' on. The others are waitin' for ya."

Leaning into the hardened, seasoned, cigar-smelling warrior, Jessica smiled. "Yes, I suppose they would be."

They made their way to the dinning room. Dinner was set on the table, but there was no one else in the room yet… only Logan and Jessica. "Give 'em a moment," Logan grunted.

Jessica only looked confused. "Ooookaaay."

"A lot's changed since ya left." Logan said.

Jessica nodded. "Yeah. I noticed. I can't wait to see the professor. Where is he?"

Logan paused and cleared his throat nervously.

Catching the silence and its meaning, Jessica looked up at him, her face drained of color. "No. No!" she said in a disbelieving whisper.

Logan nodded and looked away from her at the sound of footsteps and voices.

"Mutanemia Duplex. May twenty ninth." He said shortly.

Most of Jessica's happy mood sank away through her toes, but some of it revived again when she saw a weird-looking knot of bodies fighting its way into the room.

The one in the middle appeared to be shorter than the other two and didn't seem as if it wanted to be there. "Hey, look, I can walk you know! Doggone you, Kay! Put me down! Beast, I can't believe you went along with this. There's no one in here except Wolverine and I think he'd much rather talk to me on his own… ou! Time." At that moment both of the larger figures let out simultaneous yelps and a very flustered Talon fell to the floor rear first.

Beast seemed about to collapse with laughter, leaning on a table. Kay, now a rather handsome man in his early twenties, bent to help Talon to her feet. "It was still funny." He babbled. "The way you reacted when he just scooped you up."

Talon rubbed her head and tried to get her shoulder-length hair to lay flat.

"Oh, Wildcat!" Logan gasped. "You hacked your hair! Why'd ya do that?"

Talon blinked, still shaking off her abduction. "It was hot. Besides what do you care about my hair?"

Logan laughed. "Because there's less to pull you around with."

Talon groaned. "Please don't embarrass me. Could somebody find my cane? I think it's wrapped around the artificial plant outside."

Finally, Jessica decided to make her presence known. "Hi, Talon!"

Talon raised her head and stood frozen for a minute before coming unglued. "Hi, Jess! It's been… forever. What's happening?"

Instantly the other four melted into the crowd that was hurriedly filling the dining room. As the two stood talking, Jessica noticed several new faces in the crowd. There was a tall, lanky blue-furred young man who looked a lot like Beast, a nervous-looking preteen girl who appeared to be a centaur, and several new staff members. Deep within the crowd, Jessica saw another face, one that she recognized but didn't believe. At first, she thought she was staring into the face of Magneto, but another look at the eyes made her pause. They were brown, but the expression in them was anything but cordial. Quietly, she elbowed Talon. "Hey, Les. Do you sense anything weird around here?"

Talon looked up at her. "Jess, I can't. Remember? My blood was almost pasteurized a year ago. I'm as tele-blind as a human."

Jessica frowned. "Something's not right about that blond headed guy in the corner."

Talon stiffened. "What's wrong about him?" she asked.

Jessica shrugged. "I don't know. It's just the way he's looking at us."

Talon blinked. "How's that?"

"I don't know. He's looking through us like we're insects."

Talon turned to her cousin. "Okay. You go check out the weird kid, I'll handle the crowd. I've gotta find Cyclops anyway. He said he wanted to talk to me."

Jessica put a hand on her shoulder. "I think I know what he wanted to tell you."

Talon looked up at her cousin. "What is it?"

Jessica sighed. "I'd rather not discuss it right now. I've got some exploring to do."

Leslie turned and moved off into the crowd only to be grabbed by the shoulder by Rogue. "Hey you! Long time no see. Are you planning on coming back to school?"

Talon shook her head. "I don't know. Right now I'm trying to get used to being solid again. That's enough work in itself."

Rogue nodded sympathetically. "I'm teaching flying this year. Wahoo. It's fun but not when I have to keep up with a buncha flyin' five-year-olds."

Talon smiled, but her eyes and ears were trained on her cousin who was gabbing her way across the room toward the strange kid. Before she could politely excuse herself, a familiar footfall sounded on the marble floor.

Rogue wasn't even fazed and continued with her story. "I mean one broke her nose, two started scrappin', and then…"

"Wildcats one and two!" boomed Cyclops. "Come with me, please. Furball, you come too."

Talon groaned. "Oh no. So much for peace and quiet."

* * *

AN: Hello and welcome to a year long co-written work between me (Jhessill) and my cousin, Leslie. She visited last year during Thanksgiving and we started writing just like we used to do a decade ago when we were in high school. Work and jobs and general moving made it impossible to keep in touch, but finally we back in touch when I moved back down south. So, anyway, here's the result of two starved muses finally getting to a feast.

Renegade: Shut up and get on with it.


	2. Chapter 2

Reunion

Chapter 2

Cyclops led them down the hall to the professor's old office. Everyone else passed through the doorway, but Talon paused outside, Cyclops behind her.

"Go on in, Talon." He said softly.

Talon looked back at him. "Why are we going in here? Shouldn't we ask…"

Jessica paused, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Um, Talon. He's… gone."

Talon looked up at her, her face pale with shock. "What? When? Why didn't anyone…?"

"Beast thought it best not to worry you. He said you've lost enough people in your life. Come on." Cyclops said quietly.

The group crammed into the small space. "All right. This reunion was meant to bring us together for fun and friendship and all that, but there was another reason why I wanted everyone here."

Furball yawned. "Okay, Mr. Summers. Get to the point."

Cyclops glared at him. "Enough, Jason. There is a race of people- no, an entire world that is in great danger. Its creators hid it by using what they called a "locking spell". It's some sort of highly charged force field. Trecia is a member of that world. She came to us a confused and terrified three-year-old, but she was able to relate to us enough to know that she could trust us."

Jessica suddenly nodded. "Is she the centaur chick?"

Cyclops nodded. "You've still got it, Jess. Furball, tell her to come in here."

Furball turned and left the room.

A minute later, Furball was back with the nervous female centaur at his side.

She looked from one to another of the group and sighed. "What do you wish of me, Sir Summers?" she asked nervously.

Cyclops gestured toward the others. "Tell us what it is that menaces you."

Trecia nodded. "Our world was once protected by the Selah—an army of elves who have used the element to shield us. Somehow, its power is being weakened. Some sons of men who looked much like you invaded our land and took several of us captive, my family among them. Once we arrived in your United States, we were split up and sent to several parts of your world. The invaders released my family, saying they were of no value, allowing them to return. I was kept like a pet and taught to dance and performed as a sort of circus animal. Fortunately, my family was able to temporarily reseal the tear between our world and yours, but it weakens without the element to strengthen it. If those sons of men succeed in opening our world, who knows what may happen? Magic and science will collide. The mythical and realistic will be as one. If that happens…"

Talon stepped forward. This was starting to sound very familiar. "What other races inhabit your world, Trecia?"

Trecia looked her way. "Elves, gnomes, dwarves. As the modern expression goes- you name it, we have it. Do you not see the urgency in our position?"

Talon nodded. "Yeah. I think I do. What do you want us to do about it?"

"Cadar is powered by a rare element buried deep within the caverns of our homeworld. Our dwarven allies mine this element, which they then transfer to our elvin allies, who stabilize the element. We centaurs offer our strong backs in the mines and ferrying the element, still buried within the mineral Acarinite, between the two. The gnomes have found a way to isolate the element in the mineral and draw it out. They feed it into the machine which powers Cadar. For some reason, our once abundant mines have become impenetrable to us. We can no longer enter the mines without falling weak and prolonged stay inside the shafts only a few feet has killed several of our kin and our allies. We fear it is the work of the Orc and Troll nations working together. Your sons of men seemed unaffected by the shields. We… I hope that you can find out the cause of the … illness that sweeps the mines. I also hope, should they still live, you can find those of my homeworld that they took from us." Trecia took a deep breath and paused, looking over the group. "I leave the rest for Sir Summers to detail." Stepping aside, she gently motioned to Cyclopes to continue.

"I know of seven other centaurs. Three are loose like you and the other four are in Cruise City's Base B." Cyclops said.

Talon's eyes widened. "That's not far from Spartanburg. They're not sideshow freaks are they?"

"No." Trecia said. "They serve a more practical purpose."

Talon shrugged. "Why are they still holding them?"

Trecia kicked out at the air. "Their blood. They have a unique type of plasma in their blood that allows them to recover from many of your world's deadly diseases."

Talon stood silent for a minute. "I'm such an idiot." She mumbled.

"Why do you say that, Talon?" Cyclops asked.

Talon gave her teacher a look. "I passed the sideshow freak exhibit at the fair last month and they kept talking about something called Kzron Zim the Mighty. They described it as a half horse half man. It was pulling all these barrels filled with pig iron or something. I didn't even think about it. I just kept right on going."

Renegade elbowed her cousin. "You're getting dense in your old age."

Talon ignored her, keeping an uncharacteristic silence.

"Well." Cyclops said. "Are you familiar with that particular centaur, Trecia?"

Trecia cocked her dark black head and thought. "No, but the name is Centaurian. I believe he is of the Gondori tribe. They are hardy people and will keep for a while provided they are not locked in a small room with no windows."

"Why is that?" Furball asked.

"Centaurs are claustrophobic." Renegade supplied.

"And they also are afraid of fire." Talon added.

"Trecia? Do you know if any Elves have been captured?"

Trecia nodded. "Two. The warrior-king Calavrox and his son the one Prince Nesson. The last time I heard, they were both in a holding facility in Europe somewhere, but that was nearly five years ago. I don't know what is being done to them, but Calavrox is a strong ruler. He will be able to withstand most of what the sons of men can dish out."

"Okay." Furball said, twitching impatiently. "What are we dealing with first, the Acarinite, or the captured?"

Cyclops spread his hands in a wide gesture. "Floor's open. What do you think we should do?"

Renegade cocked her head and thought. "In this case, I'd say the safety of the world is more important than the rescuing of a few."

Cyclops turned to Trecia and Furball. "I go where she goes." Furball said, grinning at Talon.

Trecia gave an annoyed sigh. "Hold your disrespectful tongue you blue-furred two-legger! If I were you, Lady Talon, I would put as much distance between you and this irritant as possible."

Talon nodded. "He's water off my back."

Cyclops cleared his throat. "On task, all of you. Talon, your opinion?"

Talon thought for a minute. "I think I'll have to go with Renegade on this one. It's been how long since you've physically seen any of these people, Trecia?"

Trecia frowned. "I haven't seen any of the centaurs, but I've been hearing murmurings out of Ireland about a young man who single-handedly captured a tiger without using any form of restraint and asking it to enter its cage. He has been spotted at zoos and circus grounds, but when people try to find him he's nowhere around. I believe that is Prince Nesson." She looked at Renegade. "I believe Renegade has determined the best course of action. I can get you into the world. Sir Summers, are you with me?"

Cyclops heaved a huge sigh and turned toward the door. "Sounds like a plan to me. I'll see what the rest of the blue squad thinks. We'll need a few more experienced minds on this trip. Furball, would you mind summoning your dad?"

Furball grinned. "Okay, but I'd much rather…"

"Jason, go. We don't have time for your useless jawing."

Furball sighed. "Okay, okay I'm going."

Cyclopes stood looking at the assembled people standing near the Blackbird. According to Trecia, who stood with the group, they would need to take a short jaunt to the upper Adirondack Mountains before she could take them to Cadar. "'We must go through the veil there to get to my village'" was what she had told him. Standing with her were Beast, Furball, Talon, Renegade, Wolverine, and Ice.

Renegade looked around at the assembled crowd herself. "Um, is this enough of us to save an entire planet?"

Talon gave a short chuckle. "I don't know. If we can figure out what's causing the mine to malfunction and the element … maybe."

"Even the smallest person can make a difference," Beast said in a sagely manner. "We just have to eliminate all the other un-possibilities."

"Just board the plane," Wolverine grunted, chewing on the end of an unlit cigar.

"Agreed," said Cyclopes.

The plane boarded and takeoff successful, the passengers about the Blackbird enjoyed a quick ten minute flight to the location Trecia has given them.

"So, um," Ice started, "how exactly do we get to your world?"

Trecia stamped her hind left foot in frustration. "It will be easy, if I could find the veil's tear. I haven't been here in a short piece of time, Ice. It may have sealed itself…" She paused, reaching out her arm towards a gossamer thread suspended in mid-air. "Or, in this case, gotten more visible," she finished dejectedly. _I wonder how many more sons of men have gone through here. _Pulling her arm aside as one would a curtain; Trecia motioned for the others to go ahead of her. "Make haste."

It only took a moment for the others to file through.

Twitching, Renegade gave a feral grin and shifted to full panther even as Wolverine's claws gave their trademark "SNIKT" as he let them out. "I don't think yer people are takin' kindly to visitors, Tre," he said gruffly.

"No kidding, Einstein," Furball said cheekily.

Trecia gave a half snort and kicked her foreleg. "Would you leave a weak point at the school unguarded if my kin had already come in and kidnapped your friends and family, Wolverine? I think not." She reared up suddenly and upon impact called out in her native tongue…ignoring the looks the others gave her. **"I am Trecia, daughter of Denryx and Allyri Gyr, keepers of the Caltineo Stone and heiress to the Gladimer Gauntlet. I bring help." **

"**Trecia,"** came the same tongue, **"we thought you lost with the others. Pray, who are the others of your party?"**

"**With me stands Cyclopes, trusted advisor and leader of the others. The large blue one is called Beast, healer and philosopher. His son, the little blue one, is Furball. The short female beside me is Talon. Next to her stands Ice."** Trecia suddenly stopped. "Where are Wolverine and Renegade? I did not see them move off."

Talon looked around, head cocked as she listened. "They probably didn't want to be seen or heard. I think they're scouting though."

Trecia stomped again, snorting in disgust. "They couldn't wait?" Before anyone got the chance to say anything, Trecia continued. **"There are two more of our party. One called Renegade and another called Wolverine. They are scouts and… have already begun scouting ahead of us. Should you see them, don't damage them… too much."**

"**Step forward daughter of Denryx."**

Trecia did as instructed and nodded as five centaurs, one courser and four warriors, stepped from the trees. This group was put together to take on more powerful foes and the female felt confident that no one else had gotten through this tear in quite some time.

"The smell of our world lies faint upon you, child, but you are indeed one of our own," the large courser said in greeting. "You carry yet another of our world with you. Step forward, Talon Eagle."

Talon took a step backwards in surprise before doing as she was told. "How do you know my full codename?"

"Twas I who gave it to you," he replied. "Perhaps you know me better as Cassious."

For a moment, Talon stood in disbelief. It had been many years since she'd heard that name.

"You know this guy?" Furball asked.

Talon nodded, relieved now that someone else stood between herself and Furball.

"Yes. I know him quite well, actually. Cassious? When we have more time, I'd like to catch up on old news, but right now I have to ask you- have all who ventured into the mines died because of the… fumes or whatever?"

"No." said the large Morgan centaur. "Most were removed before they died. Many of them complain of tightness in the chest and a burning sensation in the throat."

Talon nodded, but her thoughts seemed elsewhere. To Beast's trained eye, she appeared to be fighting with something—something she did not want to remember. Like his teacher before him, he refrained from searching her mind, though her haunted expression still troubled him. "Keep them in quarantine until we can question them." She said finally, regaining her composure .

Cassious nodded. "We are grateful for your arrival, but I fear it has been long overdue. As long as we're asking questions, I have one for you. What are your plans for saving our world?"

Talon blinked and looked back at the others.

Cyclops looked up warily at the other four centaurs. "I think we would get more work done if we tackled this problem on several fronts. If you would allow Beast to work with one of your chemists, the rest of us can figure out what's going on here."

Cassious looked at Trecia for a long time. "Can we trust them, daughter of Denryx?"

Trecia nodded. "You know the Lady Talon. The one called Beast raised me from filly-hood. I'll vouch for the others. They are loyal friends and can be trusted."

Cassious nodded and motioned for the other centaurs to step out of the way. The group gazed through the trees in front of them into a city straight out of a story book.

"Wow." Ice breathed, pushing Trecia's flank out of the way so he could get a clearer view.

Cassious bowed to the group. "Welcome to Cadar." he turned to Trecia. "Your father will be much relieved to know you are safe. Come. I will take you to the borders of his land, but I cannot accompany you to his home. I am a member of the Hamib Ahraru, or Hill tribe. My crossing into Denryx territory would be considered disrespectful without his leave."

Talon looked up at him. "Since you can't go with us, do us a favor and inform your people of what's going on. Any help at all they can offer us will be appreciated."

Cassious smiled down at her. "I will relay the news. Now let us go. Every delay puts us one more thread closer to danger."

"Ou!" Renegade grunted as a branch smacked her in the face. She and Wolverine were attempting to make their way silently toward a suspicious-looking wooden house in a completely Elvin neighborhood.

"I thought you said these guys lived in trees." Wolverine growled.

"I did, but what's that?"

"Looks like a house to me."

Renegade elbowed him hard only to receive the heel of a palm in her back. "Ou! It is a house, but it's the wrong kind of house." She said through gritted teeth. "Now do me a favor and make yourself useful and get this branch out of my way."

Wolverine stepped forward and lunged into the thick tree branch. To his surprise, the tree swung back, knocking Renegade into him and flinging them both into the air. Renegade bounded back to her feet as Wolverine stood up, brushing himself off and swearing loudly. "What kinda place is this?" he spluttered, spitting bits of leaf.

Renegade, still in panther morph looked at him. "It's enchanted like me. Now quit your griping and let's go."

Wolverine looked at the tree which had resumed its original position. "Hey, Bushy! Ya mind moving your branch out of the way?"

Renegade laughed. "And you're being polite? Guess that tree knocked something into you."

Wolverine growled and kicked at the ground.

Slowly, the tree lifted its branches.

"Wow." Renegade said. "It listened." But as they started toward it, something happened. There was a strange roar in the air like the sound of a rocket returning to earth.

Wolverine froze with Renegade a pace ahead of him when the earth suddenly bubbled up like melting cheese in front of them.

Renegade gave a mighty leap, barely avoiding being swallowed. The two jumped the seven-foot hole in the ground and ran into the dense tangle of trees toward the house. "This is why I should've stayed with Cyclops." She groaned.

"Hmph. We'll get a lot more done without him." Wolverine said, pushing ahead. "Com'on."

As the two moved across the small open space before the house, a tiny door flew open from the side and several hundred creatures came running out at them. They were perhaps two feet tall with short white hair and very wrinkled faces. They wore heavy armor and carried wooden-handled axes. The teammates froze, not sure what to make of this deadly little army.

Renegade looked questioningly up at Wolverine who grinned down at her.

"Oo! Dominos! This is my idea of fun." as the little creatures swarmed around them, Renegade and Wolverine sent them flying to both sides, but it seemed the more they knocked down, the more there were to deal with. Suddenly, Wolverine looked up toward the house, and froze just as another wave of creatures came barreling toward them.

Renegade dove into them, snarling and snapping. Five had some parts missing and four more reeled back, their carotid arteries torn in half. Blind to everything but her opponents, Renegade forced her way through until she found herself at the door of the house.

It was like someone threw a switch.

Once her front paws were on the bottom step, the strange creatures left her alone. She looked back to see what had become of Wolverine and froze herself. He was too still, his eyes looking straight ahead, his clawed hands outstretched in a lunge. Something was wrong, deadly wrong. She rose up on hind legs and pawed at the door knob. It turned easily and the door swung open. She stared into a luxuriously furnished room, and in its center was the largest crystal ball she had ever seen. A radiance that was so strong it put off heat wafted over her, and a curious smell like rusty metal filled her nostrils. The little men walked right past her as if they didn't mind her standing in their doorway. An instant later, she realized why. She could not move, but she could still see. She could no longer turn her head to see what had become of Wolverine, but she had an idea, and it wasn't good. It became painfully obvious to her that they were stuck in more ways than one.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

Reunion

The sun was sinking quickly in the sky when Cassious finally ordered a halt. He motioned ahead of them with a large hand. "Here are the boarders. I can go no further. You must go on alone. Lead them on, Trecia. I will wait for you here as long as I can."

Trecia turned and bowed to Cassious. "Thank you for your assistance, Cassious. If I am ever restored to house and hearth I will see to it that the boarders between our lands are open to trade."

Cassious's eyes widened. "My young lady, you ask for entirely too much, but never mind all that. You are home. You must enter your father's land and find his chemist." He looked at the group at large. "I warn you- watch what you say. It is rumored that the trees in these parts have ears."

Furball yawned. "Yeah, yeah whatever. He's probably just trying to scare us."

Talon glared at him. "Disrespect Cassious again and I'll show you 'what ever."

Furball stepped back looking nervous. "Uh, sorry?"

Cassious bid the others goodbye and started back for his own land.

Trecia looked around and set off before them at a quick trot. "Gees, Trecia! What's up? Why are you running?"

Trecia looked back at him. "Because it is dangerous for a female centaur of royalty to wander the streets without a guard. Come on. If we move quickly we should be within the boundaries of my father's estate."

Half an hour later, the group came to a breathless stop before a large iron gate. Trecia raised her hands to her mouth and let out a long three-toned scream. Just as the gates opened, Beast froze, causing Talon and Ice to plow into one another.

"Move, Beast! How am I supposed to see when…?"

"Renegade's in trouble." He said, whirling to face the team.

Cyclops sighed. "Oh. How'd I know that was coming? Beast, you take Ice and go look for the chemist. Furball, we'll go look for Renegade and Wolverine."

Talon gave Cyclops a worried look. "And where are you sending me?"

"You go with Trecia and explain our purpose to her father."

Talon shrugged. "Sir, is it a good idea to split up in a place like this?"

Cyclops put a hand on her shoulder. "Whether it is good or not isn't important. Mind your manners and do as you are told, Wildcat, and listen to Trecia."

Talon sighed. "Yes, Sir. Oh and Scot? You'd better bring back my cousin alive and well."

Cyclops looked at Beast, who shook his head gravely. "We'll do our best." He said, and the three groups parted company.

As she paced the length of her newly acquired cage, Renegade frown in her panther form. The little creatures had picked her up as if great panthers were a common, everyday happening and moved her to this… prison. Once the door had been sealed, the werepanther realized that she could move again. Immediately her eyes sought out Wolverine's fate, but all she saw was an empty cage next to her own. Angrily, the female tested the steel of the bars with her claws; snapped at them with her teeth. At first, this earned chuckles from the captives, but very quickly they left her to her own temperament.

Wolverine groaned as he was once again set down with a rather clumsy 'thunk'. Once again, his claws were put against some metal. Twice before, the sharp adamantite claws had sank right through it. This time, however, the metal held firm. If they could, Wolverine was sure his eyes would have bulged. This was either adamantite or something stronger. After some funny mumbo-jumbo, shackles were placed around his wrists – still extended in an attack pose – and he was once again on the move.

"Trecia," her father exclaimed. "You have returned to us!"

The she-taur nodded briefly before bolting to her father's open arms.

"Father!" she shouted in an ecstasy of excitement. "I have returned with both friends and help." The older centaur released his daughter and looked into her face.

"Oh, Trecia. We thought you were dead."

Trecia smiled, her eyes glittering with happy tears. "There are only eight of us, but we may be enough to solve this mystery. I am sure news of our coming has reached you already."

Trecia's father nodded. "The Five were sent fourth this morning when it was reported that several strangers had entered our world. I am so thankful one of them was you."

Trecia nodded, but the troubled look on her father's face made her pause. "What else."

Denryx paused, giving a heavy sigh. "The last of the element has been depleted. This is heavy news. Not just for our kind, but for all inhabitants of this earth—those who are hidden and those who are in the light."

Trecia sighed. "I did not come alone."

"I know. You brought a daughter of men with you. Myrax is keeping a watch on her. What use do you find in the foul creatures?"

Trecia stiffened, her expression indignant. "Not all of them are evil, Father. Sir Beast is a son of men. He rescued me from the streets and taught me all I know. I came with the Lady Talon Eagle. She is known to Cassious of the Hamib Araru tribe."

Trecia's father's eyes widened. "Cassious still lives? We thought him dead. His people said that he left them without explanation for four weeks and did not return until yesterday." Trecia's father led the way over to a large mural on his wall depicting seven centaurs in battle armor with a mountain range in the background. "These are the heads of the seven centaur families. The head of Hamib Araru was Ran Belthond. He and his five sons were slain in battle protecting their land from invasion by the Gondori tribe to the south. His wife, hearing of his death delivered his seventh son two months early. That son is Cassious. He was raised by his mother, the queen Vashta. The Hamib Araru is the only tribe who respects the sons of men."

"Why?"

"Because of Queen Vashta. She fought with the eldest sons of the tribe, and won." Trecia's face whitened. "What? The tribe is ruled by a woman?"

"It is indeed. One year after the death of Ran, news was brought to the queen that it was an accidental slip of the tongue that caused the dispute. Enraged, Vashta rekindled an old family tradition."

"What was it?"

"She asked for the return of Hon."

Trecia's eyes widened. "Vashta is a Hon?"

Trecia's father nodded silently.

"Tryfauna's tail! What an age this is! Legends grow up from the ground. The Hon were secret-keepers- readers of the On'Yun'Vo."

"Yes, the star runes. How much you remember, my daughter."

Trecia stood with her chin in her hands. "They used to hide vital information by carving it into the skin of an unknown commoner. Ages ago, every king had one in his service."

Trecia's father smiled. "You are right. I believe Vashta was able to teach

Cassious to read the On'Yun'Vo, but I do not know who he has chosen to continue the tradition."

"Father you don't think… but she's blind!"

"No. Not blind, but blinded by magic while still in the womb. Blinded in order to keep the master of the homunculus from capture."

Trecia held up a hand. "What's the difference? We do not know which of the foul imps was chosen to bear it, and now there is no one who can read it."

Trecia's father was silent with thought. "I do not believe them so ignorant as to inscribe such important information on one of their own. They would want the person to be far away- far from the reach of any Hon."

Trecia's eyes widened. "No. Not in the world of men."

Her father nodded. "What better place to hide something than in the most unlikely place? Someone is probably wandering around with our answer cut into their skin."

Trecia looked at her father. "What must we do?"

Denryx passed a hand over his wooly white head. "Protect the Lady Talon. Surely, Cassious has made some prevision for this."

Renegade continued to snap and claw at the bars, yowling and roaring long after her captives had left her. She had awoken the elf that had been lying in the 'empty' cage and he lay there watching her for a short time.

"Be at peace, daughter of the forest," he said in a silvery language.

Jessica whirled to face him, teeth bared in frustration. "And just why the hell should I listen to you, son of the woods?"

The elf chuckled weakly, coughing up some blood. "These creatures enjoy breaking the spirits of the strong."

"What are these things?"

The elf coughed again. "Search your memory, Renegade."

Instantly, the younger female was on alert. "Just how the hell do you know my name?"

"I should," he replied calmly. "I gave it to you."

Jessica scoffed. "I made it up years ago, pretending I was an X-Man, long before I knew what I really was."

"Who was your first imaginary crush?"

Jessica blushed beneath her fur as she remembered her prince charming. He had been blonde, with piercing green eyes, a gentle smile, and … Elvin. "His name was William."

The elf gave a half smile. "Prince William Thomas Ulysses Edward Dar'khanon, at your service, m'lady."

Eyes bulging out of her head, she stared opened mouth for a long second. "I've run across all those names in my life," she stated.

"I know," William replied. "It was my way of trying to bring you home, dear child." His smile fell as he said, "Now, search your memory. What are those things?"

Resting on her rump and staring through her lifelong friend, Renegade thought. Her eyes glazed over as she sat there. For a long moment, William was afraid that she had stopped breathing, but as he watched her, he noticed that her sides still moved with the steady rhythm of breath. "Hommoculus," she breathed. "Demon imps who can take any shape and that can only be destroyed by the death of their master. They feed off frenzy and bloodshed."

William nodded. "Indeed. Though don't think that going up to one and smothering it with love is going to calm them. You must defeat… no, you must kill their master."

"Their master must be in contact with them somehow…" Jessica surmised. "Probably through that orb. I have to get out of here and find Wolverine!"

"Calm yourself, daughter of the forests."

"Why do you call me that? I'm a were-panther, not a hunter. Hell, I can't fire a bow to save my soul anymore."

William gave a barking cough mixed with a chuckle. "Ranger you are not, of that I am sure. Tell me, Renegade, have you ever tried to do anything more than be a panther?" He wiped more blood from the corner of his mouth. "Truly, have you never had a plant thrive when all others have died? Have you never found your self rooting for the underdog? You are no ranger. You, my child, are a druid. The plants and animals heed your call. Nature gives your wishes some consideration… though no one can tame Mother Nature. Balance is your lifestyle. Balance in all things."

"A druid," she echoed in disbelief.

"Yes, a druid. Now, give me your paw, quickly. My time is fading."

She did as she was prompted; nervously watching his face – noting how much paler it was than it had been at the start of their talk. "What are you going to do?"

"Shh, child. Just stay still and quiet." Taking a deep, painful breath, the elf closed his eyes and began to speak in an ancient tongue. After a few moments, Renegade found she could understand him. _"…and grant this daughter of the forests much wisdom and strength in her time. I give to her my remaining years and the knowledge I posses. May she use them in good judgment."_ He lookedher in the eyes and added. _"May the light guide your feet on the proper path." _

"_And may your star burn brightly in the skies for the remainder of our days."_ She found herself replying automatically.

William let out a shuddered breath and slumped against the bars of his cage. "Good bye, dear child." His chest heaved once more and then he was still.

Renegade reached her paw out; shelving her surprise that it was now human again; and shut William's eyes. "Good bye, dear one." Sighing, she closed her eyes and thought for a long while. It was unnerving to have the body of a dear 'imaginary' friend lying in a cage next to her, but she pushed it aside. There were more important things to deal with right now.

_Hommoculus are demons - denizens of the underworld - that feed off hatred, malice, despair, and hopelessness. Smothering one love alone does not defeat it, only weaken it. I wonder if there's a way to defeat all the demons here… no, can't defeat them, but perhaps weaken them with something. _She had returned to her full panther state and because of that, could stand and pace in the lengthy cage. _If the hommoculus here are being controlled through that crystal ball… which is possible… then destroying the ball will send these things into a chaotic state of … well, chaos. No one to lead them… control them… they could seriously damage the woods and wildlife around them. Unless I could find some way to weaken them……… _She paused in her musings as Wolverine was finally brought into the room she occupied.

Wolverine grunted as he was shoved into a cage with a body lying in it. His nose still working, he realized immediately that the body was a corpse. He noted how it lay near Renegade's cage… its hand laying within her reach. His fact finding was cut short when the little 'dominoes' took the body from his cage. Roaring in his throat, he watched as his prison was sealed. Lunging against the bars… not expecting to move… he landed in an undignified heap even as the door to the room closed. "Tell anyone I did that, 'gade, and…"

"Did what," the female asked with a wink. "How far can you move your hands with those shackles?"

Wolverine tested the shackles. They didn't expand, but didn't shrink anymore than a foot between his wrists. "About here," he grunted – his wrists extended for her inspection.

Renegade studied his bonds for a moment before shaking her shaggy head. "Not bad. Could have used another six inches, but we'll improvise."

"Improvise what? And what was that dead guy doing reaching out to you? And why are you so calm about being locked in a cage? Just what the hell is going on here?!"

Flinching at the loud roar from the last question, Renegade slipped quietly from panther form to that of an average house cat… slipping from her cage to Wolverine's without a sound… and then back to panther form. "Logan, just trust me. Try to get some rest." With that, she motioned for him to lie down. After he complied, she snuggled into the warmth of his side, slipping up on his chest as one would a lover. "I have a plan."

Sputtering mutely at the sudden turn of events, Wolverine did the best he could to get comfortable. "Are you going to tell me anything?"

"I'm about to tell you everything, just relax."

Talon paced anxiously in the courtyard of the Gyr family compound. The chill in the air meant that night was coming and she was both hungry and tired. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why Beast sent her with Trecia. To her knowledge, she knew nothing about the ways of the centaur race. Another question lay heavy on her mind. How did Cassious know her? When did he give her that code name? "He said I was from this world." She mumbled, kicking at several loose stones as she paced. "I was pretending back there when I told Cassious to talk to his people. It was to help the team. I haven't got a clue about what to do. How can I be from this world? It's… uh-oh." Talon froze at the sound of trotting hooves coming from the Gyr house. She whirled around, fully prepared to bless out Trecia for leaving her to stand outside in the cold, but before she could open her mouth, a male voice floated to her on the biting air.

"You must forgive our rudeness, Lady Talon, but I had to confirm my daughter's story. Our relations with the sons of men have not been the greatest of late. Come within now and await the arrival of your friends."

Talon was on the verge of yelling at Trecia's father, but wisely chose to hold her tongue and followed him inside. "Pardon me, Sir Denryx, but what friends are we waiting for?" Talon asked through chattering teeth.

The centaur smiled. "Uh… Ice and Beast, so Trecia said."

Talon smiled. "That was fast. I wonder what they found out."

The centaur sighed. "I do hope they will have discovered what is polluting our mines."

Talon nodded. "Me too."

"I am so sorry for leaving you like that." Trecia said softly so that no one heard. "Because of the disaster, our relations with the sons of men have been…"

"Save it." Talon barked.

Trecia lowered her eyes in mute surrender. "I didn't know what you were. I'm so stupid! It could've been horrible if the…"

"Trecia?" Talon said roughly. "What is going on?"

Trecia stepped back, seeing the strange fury in her face. Suddenly, she knew now was not the time to reveal what she knew.

"Tryfauna's grace to you, daughter of men. Whatever the burden we have laid upon you… Forgive us."

Talon glared at her. "I'm not offended because you left me outside. It's probably one of your laws or something, but in case you didn't know, we're a team. Where you go, I go. Got it?"

Trecia sighed and looked away flushing with stung pride and worry. "Cyclops told you to heed me, did he not?"

Talon tossed her head. "He did, but that's only if your orders make sense."

Trecia sighed wearily, looking back toward the front door of the large house. Both gave a surprised yell as Beast and Ice materialized in front of them.

"Sorry about the holdup." Ice said. "Beast got very friendly with the Chemist and…"

"Kim Chang!" Beast roared. "Friendly is hardly the way I would put it. There was no other way."

A sharp smell hit Talon's nose and she looked at Beast. "Ummmm, Sir? What have you been…?"

Beast staggered sideways and sank into a rickety wooden chair which toppled to the floor with a deafening crash.

"You weren't there." Beast grunted furiously, looking up at Talon, Ice, and Trecia. "She wore a helmet that prevented my finding out anything about the malady. I spent half my time trying and trying to keep her hands off me and I had to drink a bucket of something called Tranya before she would even speak of it."

"Well what did she say?" Talon said nervously, wrinkling her nose and backing away.

Beast looked at her, his eyes blood-red. "Do not question my information-gatheringing techniques. Oooooh, my head is roaring like a hundred idol big rigs. Sir Denryx. I'm afraid… I need a bed." With that, Beast's head sank to his chest and he slumped senseless to the ground.

Trecia rushed to him, Talon at her heels. "Is this true, Ice?" Trecia asked as she tried to wake him. Ice looked worried.

"Uh, well. He sent me to speak with the survivors about their symptoms. When I came back… aham. When I came back, Sir Beast was sitting on the floor of this cave with a really old she-taur who was scratching his back with a bone needle.

Trecia looked dazed. "Curse me! She is Beyoga Rzin, a blood witch. She was no chemist. I believe she was trying to bind Sir Beast to her in a permanent partnership."

Talon sighed. "Oh great. I thought Beast was intelligent enough not to make such stupid mistakes."

Trecia sighed. "Let it go, my hotheaded companion."

Talon shook her head. "I'm not letting it go. You people are acting so shady it makes me wonder who I can trust. Who knows what he said to her?"

Trecia shrugged. "He should've been more careful. It is done. Nothing can undo it now."

Trecia's father and two burly centaurs carefully lifted Beast off the splintered chair and started toward a ramp that apparently led upward to a sleeping quarters of some sort.

"You said you were looking for a chemist?" he asked, looking curiously at his daughter.

Trecia returned his look. "Father, do you know where he is?"

He nodded. "Of course. He is in the cellar doing something with several jars of air taken from the mines."

Trecia turned and looked at Ice and Talon. "I am sorry, but even a second's exposure to that air would put any centaur in a coma. You must go down alone."

Ice looked at Talon. "Your call."

Talon looked around. "Don't look at me. Beast's the one with the chemistry degree."

Ice frowned. "Well, he's stone-drunk right now."

Talon sighed. "Okay. Let's go."

Back in the drafty dungeon beneath the small house, Wolverine was blinking in disbelief at Renegade. "A druid?"

"Yes." Renegade said, her bright yellow cat eyes fixed on his.

"And that dead elf told you all this?"

She nodded again.

Wolverine sighed, trying to hide a yawn. "Okay. So if we destroy the crystal ball it'll confuse these monsters?"

"That's my theory." Renegade answered.

Wolverine suddenly sat up, sending Renegade tumbling into his lap with a sharp, "meeearrrr!" "Then get to it."

Renegade looked up at him quizzically. Wolverine set her on her feet. "I've gotta wait for one of the demons to get our chamber pot. As soon as they open this door they're chopped liver."

Renegade nodded. "Okay. Seeya on the surface."

Cyclops came to a weary halt before a cathedral of trees with Furball a few steps behind him. He looked down at his portable Cerebro unit and frowned.

"What is it?" Furball asked.

Cyclops showed him the device. "She's moving. We've lost her."

Furball groaned. " Oh great. Just what we need in this…" Furball's sentence ended in a frightened gasp as a beautiful female face appeared above them in the branches.

Cyclops glanced up and froze, putting a hand on Furball's shoulder. "Shut up. Keep still. She's an elf."

"And she's got a long sword." Furball said, and complied. The three remained where they were for perhaps thirty seconds, measuring one another warily. Finally, Furball cleared his throat. "We, come, in, peace. Take, us, to, your, leader."

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Reunion

Reunion

Chapter 4

The she-elf leapt catlike to the ground. Furball backed off a little when he noticed she was taller than Cyclops. "I am Daena the hawk-eyed. King Calavrox would like to know why you are entering our lands without his leave. Who are you and whither are you bound?" she asked in a stony voice.

Cyclops looked around, and was given pause when he saw two full ranks of Elvin warriors standing in file just within the trees. "We're friends of Trecia Gyr. We've come from the world of men to help you figure out what's gone wrong in your mine."

The elf nodded. "Friends of Gyr, are you? A very respectable Centaurian family. We have long looked for help, but we never expected it to come from the world of men. Come. I will take you to him. He is Lord of the new Laurel Forest and leader of the Selah."

Furball nodded. "We're on the right track. We're going to get to meet the Selah. Now, please refresh my memory. What's the Selah?"

The elf turned toward the forest, motioning for the others to follow. "The Selah reveal that which is hidden. They are the wielders of light and high knowledge. If you are speaking the truth, Calavrox will know, and if you are not…" she glanced over her shoulder at the warriors who had formed a solid wall behind them.

Furball gulped. "Um, Mr. Summers? Is this really worth being turned into a pincushion? We're looking for Renegade and Wolverine. The mine is Dad's problem."

Cyclops nodded. "I know, but we have to take what ever help and guidance we can from whoever will give it. This Calavrox isn't going to hurt us."

Furball shrugged. "How do you know?" Cyclops rolled his eyes. "Do you ever listen, Jason? Trecia said that Calavrox and his son were among the captives taken from Cadar. If he threatens us, we bate him with news of his son. I assure you. He won't hurt us. Now come on."

Furball twitched nervously. "I wish I could believe you, and while I'm wishing, I wish Talon were here. There's something about her. Did you see how the centaurs looked at her? They didn't seem worried at all when we entered Cadar. Even before Trecia spoke, they lowered their weapons."

"I don't know who she is to these people." Cyclops admitted. "I don't think she knows herself. I wish Wolverine and Renegade hadn't run off on their own. It adds more difficulties to an already difficult situation."

Furball grinned. "They'll be okay. Wolverine can take care of himself. Renegade didn't strike me as a pushover."

Cyclops nodded. "They're so alike it scares me. Just as bullheaded and stubborn and… Wow!" both Cyclops and Furball froze before a massive tree. It was so large neither of them could see the other side.

The she-elf paused at its base and gave a trilling whistle which was quickly answered from above. A long rope ladder appeared along with a huge set of dark skinned hands and then the head and shoulders of a male elf who gazed down at them through bushy brows. The she-elf bowed, and Cyclops and Furball did the same.

"Oh man!" Furball groaned. "He's huge. My arms look like noodles next to his. I hope he believes us."

The she-elf gave him a sharp look from over her shoulder and began to climb the ladder. "Come up. Scouts alerted us to your arrival. He is anxious for news. Pray speak swiftly. He is not in an amiable temperament. It seems someone has entered the domain of the homunculus and spooked their leader. He has sent messengers to our borders threatening war, claiming that the intruder was flat-skinned and had a large black cat with him."

Cyclops froze. "Uh-oh."

Renegade moved toward the house in panther morph. Using the bushes for cover, she was nearly invisible. As she slunk around the corner of the house, she saw rank upon rank of homunculus marching up to the tiny door. All were cloaked in black and none carried weapons this time. Just being close to them made her blood cold. She sank to her haunches and tried to think of another way to get in. What am I doing, she thought to herself. I can't take on the entire mob alone. Still, something drove her to keep going. She trotted around to the back of the house and was shocked to find that it was built more on a human scale than the front. Looking up into the windows, she saw what could've been a bedroom with an iron bedstead and a basin for the toilet. The window had no screen. She was sure she could make it with a running start. Moving off several feet, she galloped toward it, vaulting easily through it and onto the bed and then to the floor. Pricking her ears, she could hear voices, and moved quietly toward them.

"So all is going according to plan? Has the elf died?"

"Yes, he has, oh great one."

"What of the invaders? The sen-tree has informed me that they are not of our world."

"They are secure."

"Are they? When the cat was frozen in the rays of the crystal, I sensed human thoughts coming from it. Watch it carefully. It may be a skin-changer, or something else."

"We have not yet fed from her, great one. She may have other powers. The male is much more appetizing. He is ripe with buried fury."

Renegade stiffened, knowing who they were talking about.

"With his essence distilled, we can keep reversing the power of the element until the entire vale is visible and then you can return to full power!"

There was an ear-splitting screech from all the Homunculus as they rallied around their hidden leader.

Renegade slunk into the kitchen and peered around a wooden table. She could see the crystal orb now, but it looked different. Now it was suffused with lines of pulsing yellow light, and within it, she could see a human form standing in a garden. His shoulder-length hair was a bright blond and his brown eyes were fixed on the ranks of creatures before him. His chiseled face wore an expression of wary confidence.

Renegade's heart did a flip. She knew that garden, and she also knew the face. It was the young man who looked like Magneto. "He's in the Institute." She mumbled.

Quietly, she morphed to human and picked up the cutting board she found on a counter and waited.

"There are others who have come with the female. They are in league with the elves and they are very close to finding the formula. I managed to blot it from the mind of the Centaurian Chemist, but there is one other who knows of its contents." said the kid. "We will keep the memory cube safe, great one. As long as this orb is intact, the Hon girl will be powerless and the female will have no memory of who she is. They will never find him, and they will never be able to reverse the element." The leader gave something like a snarl. "If they do, your heads will explode like rotten tomatoes and I will bathe in your worthless blood. Now, go below and feed on the male. We will face battle before the setting of the sun. They are too close already."

Renegade could've smiled. She knew Beast and Ice must've found the Chemist. She hoped against hope Beast's powers would be enough to find the formula anyway. The only thing she knew for sure was that the orb had to be destroyed, and that Wolverine was in great danger.

She smiled. "Okay, Renegade. Time to play golf."

With a yell of challenge, she burst from the kitchen and ran right at the orb. The Homunculus leapt at her all at once, their cloaks flying behind them like wings. As soon as she was in the room, she was once again unable to move. Furiously, she cursed herself for not thinking of that. A rush of wings from behind her made her jump as an entire army of crows swarmed into the room and fell on the surprised creatures that flew in all directions as the birds pecked and tore at their flesh. Once their gaze was directed elsewhere, she found she could move again.

"Thank you." She breathed to the air and ran at the orb, bringing the board across it with a deafening crash. Bits of glass flew everywhere, and for a second, she was staring into the shocked face of the kid whose image fragmented as the ball broke apart.

"Idiots!" he roared in her head. "She's a Druid! A confounded Druid! Protect the memory…" his voice faded as the last fragment clattered to the floor.

Where the orb had been there was now a large round hole. Glancing down, she saw what looked like a puddle of flowing water that seemed to be locked in a circular pattern, and far below in the depths, a small neon-orange cube.

"Hey! Good job. Nice to seeya again." Renegade gave a small yelp of surprise as Wolverine looked up at her through the hole in the floor.

"Get that cube. Now!" She told him. "We've gotta make tracks. Meet me outside." Renegade turned to deal with the remainder of the creatures, but found herself alone with eleven crows perched neatly on the windowsill awaiting direction. "Logan! Hurry! You're not alone! They're coming!" she yelled, making a dash for the now open door.

"I can't touch it!" Wolverine yelled to Renegade's back as she burst out into the early morning sunlight into yet another army of furious creatures. A few seconds later, the crows joined her, but even they weren't enough to repel them all. There was a splintering of wood behind her, and she saw Wolverine vaulting out of a huge hole in the wall, Homunculus swarming over him. She had never seen him fight like this. It seemed the more he killed; the more there were until he was nearly buried. Renegade dove into them, doing her best to fend them off. She was ankle-deep in foaming blood by the time the crows got to her. Even with their help, she was tiring quickly. One of the creatures had wrapped itself around her neck, its wrinkled face flattening weirdly into something that looked like a large plate which it extended, shaping it to the side of her head over her right ear. She lost her balance and fell, crows and creatures meeting in a mad clawing not over her. What was this thing doing to her? She closed her eyes, trying with all her might to shield her mind.

Desperately, she looked around for her teammate. One of them had to get news to the others, but… Suddenly, Wolverine seemed to crouch, and for a moment he was totally lost from view. When he stood up again, something flashed on the end of his right set of claws and every creature froze at once.

"Let her go, or this rock gets diced." The creatures screamed in fury, leaving Renegade and rushing at Wolverine again. Before any of them could make contact with him, a bright flash of light and a loud explosion shook the air. The house rose into the air and fell with a crash and Homunculus parts rained over them as Cyclops and Furball ran from the forest, several elves in toe. Fifty or so of the remaining creatures fled, screaming and tumbling over one another in their haste to escape.

Panting and covered with mud, Wolverine got to his feet and stalked over to Renegade. "Here. I couldn't touch it, but I put my claws out and it sort of stuck to'em."

Renegade reached out, smiling gratefully. "You don't know how much you've helped our cause."

"What in the world…?" Cyclops began as he put his visor back on and approached them. Renegade took the cube and got to her feet. "I'll tell you later. Now we…" the instant her fingers touched the cube, something happened. Names, memories, a childhood, a life she did not remember entered her mind. "Something is wrong. I know you, but yet you are strangers." She said slowly, her eyes vacant. "We must find the keeper of the On'Yun'Vo. There is much I must teach her."

Furball paused. "Wait a minute. I thought Han was that pilot from…"

"Shut up." Wolverine barked, moving closer to Renegade. "Gade, are you okay? What did that thing do to you?"

Renegade looked down at the cube in her hands. "It is of the highest importance that we return this to its proper mistress."

"Who is this mistress?" Cyclops asked.

"The pupil of the last son of Vashta—Queen of the Hamib Araru tribe."

Everyone froze, staring at Renegade as though she'd lost her mind.

"Jessica?" Cyclops said, a worried tone in his voice.

She did not answer, but turned toward the forest and gazed out into the distance. The elves turned too, looking off in the same direction and smiled.

"She chooses well." One of them mumbled as a small herd of shaggy ponies crested the hill and stopped several feet away.

Wolverine looked from them to the perplexed Cyclops. "She's a Druid. That's all I know." He said softly.

Cyclops nodded, not knowing what else to do.

"Come." Renegade said, turning toward the band. "We must make haste if we are to get to her in time."

"Where are we goin?" Wolverine asked nervously.

"To the land of the Hamib Araru."

"On those?" he asked, eyeing the horses with trepidation.

Jessica gave him a look. "Would you rather fly?"

Wolverine chose not to answer.

Cyclops entered the conversation. "Are you talking about Talon?"

Jessica smiled. "Talon?" Jessica paused. "Yes, Talon Eagle. She is Hon, and vital to the restoration of this land. I was sent here to encourage her and to help her resurrect the On'Yun'Vo."

Wolverine shrugged. "Okay but there's a problem. She's not in the onion whatever. We need to go to the… the — ah heck. The Gyr family's got her."

Jessica nodded. "Very well. To horse, then. Ride with all speed. The birds will scout ahead."

Back in the chemist's lair in Trecia's house, something had happened to Talon. One minute she had been talking with Ice and the Chemist, the next, she lay on the ground, clutching her head and staring at the ceiling.

Ice and the Chemist flew to her side. "What has happened, my boy?" he shouted in fear. "Get her out of here! It must be the vapors! Get her above ground now!! It has had no effect on the sons of men. Why does it bother her?"

Ice stared at him, terrified about what Beast would do when he regained consciousness and found out that something had happened to Talon on his watch.

Halfway up the stairs, Talon woke up. "Let me go!" she yelled, struggling in the duel grip of both Ice and the startled Chemist. "Where am I? Where is Cassious? Something is wrong. I can feel it. There is something I must do."

"Wait a minute." Ice said, trying to restrain her. She shoved him off with a roughness quite unlike her and as the Centaurian chemist rushed to his aid, she lunged into him, Stepping on his right front hoof, jabbing her toe into the tender spot where flesh and hoof met. He gave a short yelp and sprang back. Ice backed off as she sank into a fighting stance as if daring someone to come at her again.

"She knows how to fight centaurs. No human from our world would know that. Maybe Cassious was right."

At that moment, Trecia appeared at the top of the stairs with a line of people behind her.

Ice was relieved to see Cyclops, Renegade, Furball, and Wolverine. "Oh man am I glad to see you!"

One casual glance at Talon's face told Cyclops something was wrong. "Jessica, what's wrong with her?"

Ice rushed toward him. "You know something about this?"

Cyclops moved down a few steps and tried to take Talon by the shoulders.

She broke out of his grip and ran furiously for the floor above.

"Restrain her!" Jessica yelled.

Wolverine leapt the seven stairs Talon had already climbed and grabbed her

by the shoulders. She fought desperately to free herself, but she was no match for him. "Easy! Easy, Kid. I don't know what's goin on here, but yer cousin ain't gonna let nothin happen to you."

Jessica came around to stand in front of them, and placed the cube against Talon's forehead. "Last of the secret-keepers, speaker of the On'Yun'Vo, find your feet in your new world, and listen to what it says to you."

Talon blinked as if in pain, then she slowly melted back into Wolverine's chest. For a moment, they thought she was asleep, but then she opened her eyes.

"Rhiannon?"

Jessica smiled. "Rhiannon- the daughter of the horses. That was what they used to call me." Jessica said to herself. "Talon Eagle. I am here."

She stared up at her, her face somber and sad. "I cannot do this. It is too much for me. It is too big."

Jessica gently forced Wolverine's hands away, and helped her to her feet.

"It is what you were born to do." She said softly, handing her the cube. "Let this be an encouragement. Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee. Or speak to the earth and it shall teach thee, and the fishes shall declare unto thee. Who knows all these that the maker of the earth hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. It is not too big for you."

At that moment, Beast's shirtless bulk darkened the top of the stairs.

"Well! It is nice to see we're altogether again. You'll pardon my being late, Cyclops. I had… difficulty finding the chem…."

"Dad!" Furball yelled. "What's with all the scars?"

As Beast stepped into the light of Trecia's candle, the group was startled to see that Beast's back was covered with cuts.

Wolverine's eyes widened. "Mmm. What sort of difficulties did you have with the chemist?"

Beast flushed so bright they could see it through his fur.

Trecia stepped closer. "No, Sir Logan. They are not scars. They are too regular in contour. Talon Eagle, come here."

Slowly, Talon made her way to the top of the stairs.

Trecia directed the confused Beast to turn around. She directed Talon to examine his back.

"Would any of you care to explain what's going on here?" Beast asked, looking nervously over his shoulder.

A second later, Talon stared around at the group in confusion. "It is written using the On'Yun'VO, but what does it mean?" she mumbled. "I have never seen this word before."

Beast looked over his shoulder. "Talon, it says something?"

"Yes." She said slowly.

"What does it say?" Furball asked.

She looked away. "It says, Nesson."

Trecia gasped. "So it is true."

One of the elves who had accompanied Cyclops pushed his way into the group.

"You are Hon. You have to be. No one but a Hon could distinguish between sword-slashes and the On'Yun'Vo. What do you know of my son?"

Trecia's eyes widened. "He is in danger if he indeed has the formula written on him. In the meantime, we must keep him from the master of the homunculus.

Talon started. The hahomunculus are free?"

"Yeah." Wolverine said. "They're runnin all over this twisted world o yours."

Talon looked grave. "Then we must find this Nesson. If we do not, and the master finds him first…"

"It will be over for us all." Shouted Denryx Gyr who had appeared from nowhere. "Trecia, do you know where this Nesson is?"

Trecia nodded. "I do. He is an elf, and he is in the world of men."

Suddenly, Jessica stiffened. "And so is the master of the homunculus. He is at a school for the gifted."

Wolverine growled. "Come on! Let's go. I ain't letting some demon turn my world inside out."

Trecia's father nodded. "Yes. You must go. Find Nesson. Get the formula from his skin if it is there, and above all, capture the master of these horrible creatures."

The chemist stepped forward. "Sir Denryx? I have somewhat to add to this discussion. The reversal of the element's powers will do more than make Cadar visible. It has the potential to destroy all life here. The effects we see in the mines could spread all over this land. We have kept it at bay for forty days, but now our store of the element is completely depleted. We will have fresh air for ten days more. After that…" he stopped.

The group needed no further urging, and turned to go.

"Oh man oh man oh man how'd I get mixed into this?" Furball groaned as they fled the house.

Talon laughed. "It was fated to be so. Now run!"

Furball grinned. "Ya know, I hope you never return to normal. I could get used to this."

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

Reunion

Reunion

Chapter 5

The mad dash to the tear was a lot shorter than the trek they had taken. There were no words spoken, merely the heavy breathing of the party as they boarded the jet. It wasn't until they were in the air, did anyone speak.

"Now," Cyclopes said from the pilot seat, "will someone please give me the full story here."

Jessica paced the jet as if she were still caged. "I'm not a hundred percent sure myself, but Talon Eagle knows the language we need to read the formula off Nesson's back. We know that he's in VR, where you all live. We also know that the master of the hommoculus is at or was at the Institute. I don't think he recognized me when he saw me, so he might be there still. I am here to protect … well, nothing new there… I'd protect Talon at all costs anyway."

"Why the new name, kid," Logan growled.

"Rhiannon?" She paused in thought. "Why do you call me Renegade here and yet my Andrew calls me Jessica? That is my name in that world, as Talon's true name in Trecia's world is Talon Eagle. It is who we are when there. Not simply an alter ego, but a true sense of …" Shaking her head, the female stopped pacing. "Damn, my head hurts."

Talon spoke up from her spot. "I think half of us need to find Nesson and the other half should stop the Master."

Remembering full well what had been said before the crystal ball was smashed, Renegade growled. "I want the Master."

"But," Furball started, "what about protecting Talon?"  
"Who said I need protecting?" Talon almost sounded offended, but managed to hide her stung pride.

"Everyone needs someone to watch their back," Beast said quietly from his seat behind everyone.

That shut the entire plane up… only for a brief moment.

"Furball," Renegade said as the plane slowed for landing. "I charge you with the protection and safety of my cousin. If anything happens to her, you will answer to me."

The furry male's mouth dropped a bit. "Wha.." he started.

"Just think of it as a way to stick close to her," the druid smirked.

"Suddenly I think that's a great idea."

Talon Eagle shook her head. "It must be fate."

"Why can't the Master get back in through the tear in the veil?" Ice asked.

Trecia spoke up. "The Master of the Hommoculus was banished from our realm to yours. He can not return unless the barrier fails… which is what is happening. How he plans on fixing things when he gets back there, I do not know."

"So, why not let him back in and then dispatch him? If we stop him here and now and Talon can't find Nesson… what good does that do us?"

The Master was not at the Institute when they arrived. The students there said he had taken a hover jet and left nearly half an hour ago.

"Are the hover jets still equipped with a tracker, like they were when I 'borrowed' one," Renegade asked, even as she sat at the master computer.

"Most of them," Beast acknowledged. "There are two that are down for repairs."

"Excellent." Tapping out the commands quickly, Renegade found the tracking system pretty much as she remembered it. "You know, you guys really should update more often."

Ice stepped in and shook his head. "Then you would have to ask for help when you ran into a security problem," he replied, even as he typed out the password the female was missing.

"Hmph," she grumbled.

Talon spoke up. "So, who's preppin' the jet for Ireland? If that was Prince Nesson's last known whereabouts, why aren't we headed there?"

"Because he never stays anywhere long," Cyclopes said from his spot at a secondary computer. "I'm searching the Internet now for anymore sightings of an animal intoned male matching his description. If we can find something recent… THERE! A sighting just this morning, in London."

"I'll prep the jet," Beast volunteered. "We leave in ten."

Renegade slammed her hands down on the keyboard. "Gah, he's already on his way there!" Moving faster than she had in years, the furious female morphed cheetah and dashed out of the room; her angry growl echoed behind her.

"Two questions," Ice asked as he made his way to the hanger with the others. "One, how fast can a hover craft go again? Two, will we beat him there?"

"Dad?" Furball yelled to his father's back end which was sticking out of the engine compartment of the Blackbird as he made some minor adjustments.

"Yes, Jason?" Beast answered seemingly from half a mile away.

"I'm sc… worried."

Beast laughed. "Worrying gives you indigestion."

Jason looked behind him at the others who were coming rapidly toward the hanger. "We're splitting up again aren't we?"

"Yes." Beast answered. "Jason, if you've got something personal to ask me you'd better hurry. The others are on their way."

"Never mind." Furball said, his sharp eyes picking out the quickly-moving shapes of Trecia and the others.

"If you really want something useful to do, why not talk to your leader?"

"Who's…?"

"Hank! Are you done in there yet?" Cyclops barked. "Nesson's not going to be comfortable in London for ever"

Beast's huge shoulders roared up out of the gaping compartment and glared at his leader. "Everything is to your specifications. What are we doing?"

Wolverine grinned. "Go ahead and say it, Beast. You know you want to." Beast ignored him.

"Always the diplomat." Renegade said, grinning conspiratorially at Wolverine as if to say, he won't say what he's thinking. I'll put my money on it.

Cyclops cleared his throat and faced the team. "We're splitting up. Half of us are going with Renegade to capture the master of the daemons. The rest of you will go with Talon to try and find Nesson. Are we clear?" Silence answered his question. As clear as mud. "Good. Renegade, choose your people."

Jessica looked around. This was so disorienting. Her three names kept whirling around in her head and she wasn't sure whose memory to access. She looked over the group, and made her choice. "Cyclops, Trecia, and Wolverine. This way, both groups will have someone from Cadar."

Cyclops nodded. "Okay that works. Talon, there you are." He motioned to Beast, Furball, and Ice who moved across the hanger to stand with Talon. "Alright let's move!" Cyclops said firmly. "Beast, a hovercraft is going to be too slow. You'll need something faster."

Beast's tired fury finally found voice. "Like what, Scott? A teleportation platform? Oh. That only works when attached to the Blackbird which someone else has commandeered."

"No." Cyclops said. "The Wyvern two sixty."

"The what?"

"I designed it myself when I was in the military. It was… a gift to Jean. It's not nearly as fast as the Black Bird and it doesn't have all the toys. No cloaking device, no air-to-ground radar systems, minimal weapons- but it'll get the job done."

Beast was starting to look like a boiled ham in the face. "Who's got the Cerebro unit?"

"I do. Here." Cyclops said, tossing it at him. Beast's eyes went round with amazement as he caught it. He had specifically designed this unit for Arial reconnaissance purposes and Cyclops was treating it like a football.

Before Beast could voice his thoughts, Furball quickly stepped in. "Where is it, I mean the craft?"

"Back there." Cyclops said, motioning perfunctorily with a hand as he turned for the Blackbird, the others trailing behind him

Furball sighed as they took off with a roar and a cloud of hot air. "Well, there they go." He moaned as he approached the long torpedo-shaped lump beneath a huge grey tarp at the back of the cavernous room. Ice walked up and unceremoniously jerked it off, sending a cloud of dust wafting through the air. All of them save Talon caught their breath.

Furball's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Swwwwweaeaeaeat! I dig this ride!" the little jet was painted in magnificent three-D to look like a small dragon in flight.

Ice smiled tightly. "How appropriate. Now we know what he was doing when he should've been in aviation class. Let's go."

Soon the jet was in the air and Furball was elbowing Ice out of his way so he could sit next to Talon. He didn't know why, but his feelings toward her were beginning to change. No longer was it the idle fascination of a general crush, it was more like a genuine concern bordering on… something else he couldn't quite understand. In her new identity as Talon Eagle, she was ancient, mysterious, and unapproachable. Well, he'd see how long that would last. "You're quiet." He said softly trying to break her icy silence.

Talon looked up at him, her expression inscrutable. "I feel so lost. All the hopes of my cousin and the Hamib Araru and even of Cadar rest on me. It's too big."

Furball was trying desperately to ignore Ice who was pretending to be asleep. "I'd be really proud if anyone trusted me like that. I'm not exactly known for completing missions flawlessly."

Talon rolled her eyes at him. "My cousin has… left me in your charge. Is that not enough for you?"

Furball grinned. "Oh yeah, she did didn't she? Well, I certainly won't let anything happen to you. And, Talon, it's not too big. If Renegade thought so she would've told you, and Cassious didn't seem worried." He dropped his gaze. "I'm not worried, and you shouldn't be either." Talon sighed and let the subject drop. She was tired and confused and unstable and there was little she could do about it.

"Dad?" Furball said suddenly remembering the device in his hands which was now slick with sweat from where he'd been holding it. "What am I suppose to be doing with this… thing?"

Beast sighed. "You haven't turned it on?"

"Ummmmm nnno. Is it this button?"

"Give me that." Ice grumped, taking the unit from him and punching a series of numbers. The screen blinked to life and was instantly covered by dots of varying sizes. GPS locations from around the world ran down the left side of the screen with wavy lines connecting to countries on the right side. Percentages with a superscript M after them scrolled along the bottom with little solid lines pointing to each dot. Some of the dots were idle, others were in motion.

Furball's eyes widened. "This looks… complicated. What am I looking for?"

"The master of the Homunculus registers one thousand M, and he'll be a spike. If you see him, tell me. Nesson's somewhere in the two hundreds and he'll be a dot."

Furball groaned. "They're all dots right now."

Beast sighed. "Nesson will be a slightly larger dot. Let me know if he starts to move again. He should still be in the London region."

Talon sighed. "I hope he stays there."

Beast smiled to himself. "Me too. Ice? You have a better imagination than I do. I'm curious about Talon's mental state right now. It feels as though she is being three people at once. One is talon, another is Talon Eagle, and the other is… I can't detect the other. How is this possible?"

Ice thought about it for a minute. "This is only an assumption since I was not there, but I think Talon was transported from the womb of her mother into someone else's and blinded in order to prevent the formula from being read. Who ever did this must've been operating under the assumption that there was no one in their world who knew where the formula was. Apparently Beyoga Rzin was not our enemy after all."

Furball entered the conversation. "But how would she know what Beast was after?"

Ice rolled his eyes. "Tranya, Jason. Trecia told me Tranya is a truth charm. It can make you tell what you were dreaming the first night you discovered you were becoming a man." Furball flushed deeply even through his blue fur and shut up. "Beast was worried about the survival of Cadar." Ice went on, sounding more like Beast's true son than Furball. "Naturally, it was at the forefront in his mind."

Now it was Beast's turn to be concerned. "Hindsight. I wonder what else I told her."

Ice shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it. You've already spilled what ever beans you were intended to. There is nothing to be done now but find…"

"Woe! Dad something's happening. Nesson is moving. He's leaving… some church and is traveling in a north westerly direction toward… ummmm toward Trafalgar Square of all places. He's moving really fast. Something's… Oh man! Dad, the Haster of the Momunculous I mean… the Master is with him!"

"The master!" Talon gave a groan that froze Beast's heart.

Furball looked over at her, concerned. "Go Dad!"

Beast's response was in a calm voice as though he were describing cows in a pasture. "Jason? Listen to me. We're too far away. Do you understand? We're, too, far, away. We're at full throttle. Bessie here doesn't have rockets up her rear like somebody else we know."

Talon's face was drained of color. "Sir Beast, I mean no disrespect, but we must find a way."

Beast's voice was resigned. "There is no way, unless… Ah. I've got it. It's illegal, but it might work. Furball, where are they exactly?" Furball told him. Beast frowned. "Awfully public for this sort of maneuver but… Oh well. Furball, give me the unit. I've got to calculate distances. Bring up the specs on this bird and see if Scott was thoughtful enough to give us a teleporter. I wish we'd brought Night Crawler along."

"That's no good." Ice pointed out. "He's gotta see where he's going and there's no way he can see from Yorkshire to London."

"Good point." Beast agreed as he rattled over the keyboard. "Nineteen seventies technology. No failsafe in case of accidents no… oh come on, Scott why did you even try to construct one of these? There's no blackout agent. He'll see the world break apart and…"

Talon's despondence gave way to panic. "Sir Beast, what are you doing?"

"Preparing to reel in our fish." Beast said matter-of-factly.

Talon's eyes widened. "Is there any risk of injury?"

"Oh yes. Firstly, he could be psychologically scarred from seeing the world through every piece of himself as he is teleported here. The black out agent, had we had it, would temporarily put him to sleep until materialization. He could also be torn into a quadrillion little pieces because of all the cell phone and wireless internet signals in the area, but he'll arrive here all be it on a microscopic level. The distance doesn't help matters."

"Are you mad?"

"Probably. Is that news to you? Furball come up here with me. I need help getting a lock. I need you to feather the controls. He's dodging and moving around. I've never teleported a moving target before."

"Beast!" Talon yelled. "Don't do it. Please don't. If he is killed…"

"We can still read a body. He's the key to undoing all this and we won't get another chance! I have to risk it. He would too if he were in my place." Talon's eyes welled with tears and Furball felt his heart squeeze up. It wasn't a comfortable feeling.

"Dad?" he began, staring at Beast as he began configuring the teleporter for the longest long-range extraction of a living being of its entire existence. "We may have to give him up for now." Furball said desperately. "Renegade'll stop the master long before he gets his claws into Nesson I know she will. Add Wolverine to the mix and…"

"They want Wolverine." Beast said harshly. "If they feed on him, as Renegade informed us, they'll have enough power to get in without the formula. Thanks. He's locked. Now strap in and get me the microscope and a medical kit."

"Why the medical kit?" Furball asked hesitantly.

"Just in case he gets here in enough pieces for me to work on."

"Dad please!"

"Back up, Jason. It's two in the morning, I'm dog-tired, and Nesson's coming aboard. Do as I said."

Furball sank back into his seat. He didn't dare look at his team mates who didn't dare look at him either.

"Ooooh maaaan." Ice groaned. "The doc's lost it. I wonder if we're close enough for me to teleport to the Blackbird."

Meanwhile, Renegade sprang from a dead sleep to instant alertness. "Sir Scott. He is close."

Cyclops looked down at the onboard Cerebro unit and swore. "We're right on top of him. Wait a minute. There's someone else down there."

Wolverine's sharp eyes clinched it. "It's an elf." Now it was Wolverine's turn to be surprised. "Talon's too late. It's probably Nissan. Can you get us down there?"

"Can I?" Cyclops said rising to his feet. "Renegade, fire up the teleport platform. We're going to ground."

Nesson struggled in the grip of his attacker. Though the elf was nearly a foot taller, the stranger seemed to be drawing his strength from him through touch. He took off across the street and dove into a thick hedge. Slowly, his skin turned to match the dark green leaves, but something was coming fast up behind him. Before he could react, weight settled on to his back and bore him down. Nesson turned to one side and got a good elvish look at his face. Just behind the ice-blue human eyes, he saw something else. It was the twisted face of a Homunculus, a very familiar Homunculus.

"After so many years of searching I have found you. I never thought I'd need this piece of information, but my plans have changed since your people were so kind for banishing me."

Nesson blinked in confusion. "I don't have a clue what you are talking about Daemon, but I assure you you'll get no help from me. I am a creature of the light! Return to the dark depths of despair and hopelessness from which you came!"

At that moment, the teleportation platform was away. Several curious people looked upward at what appeared to be a box-shaped cloud descending into the street.

The Homunculus stuck out its tongue like a snake and breathed the air. "Yes. It appears my world is coming to me. My followers will not be long. There's going to be a feast tonight. Too bad you're not one of us." Nesson was confused but he didn't get a chance to understand the matter completely before the creature was at him again. The strange thing was that he wasn't trying to kill him. He was trying to peal off his clothing. Nesson wasn't sure what his intentions were, but it didn't matter. They tumbled into the street. The daemon was getting the upper hand now. Nesson lay on his stomach, one of the creature's knees locked over his back while its hands were clawing at his shirt.

The four Ex-men were close enough to see what was going on now and exchanged glances. Wolverine was about to say something but changed his mind. Twenty feet from the ground, Renegade could no longer restrain herself. She leapt in panther morph right through the protective force field and down into the street. Nesson had rolled from beneath his attacker by now and was about to turn tail again when the creature's furious human features shifted as if molten, shrinking and reforming into a wrinkled face and unnaturally bright eyes. It sprang for Nesson's shoulder. Even as he tried to push it away, its face made a strange sucking sound and sank into a hollow red bowl which it clamped over his right ear. Nesson suddenly could not move. He saw the huge black panther leaping at him, but he couldn't get out of the way. Half way through its spring, he was able to look into its eyes. Relief surged over him. It was a Druid female in one of its spirit-guardian shapes.

Renegade was lunging toward the prince's shoulder to dislodge the thing, front claws extended, jaws wide and attacked… empty air. The daemon was gone, and so was Nesson. "What the…?" Wolverine let out an indescribable sound. It sounded like a scream and a wail and a sob mingled into one grotesque and pathetic strain. Still in midair, Renegade twisted the upper half of her body around and ran toward him. Homunculus were raining from the sky in three long lines and piling around him like hungry fruit flies around a rotting banana. Standing behind them, eyes glowing and stone-still was the master once again in his blond boy guise. Jessica sprang into them screaming and yowling in fury. The daemons parted like the red sea though some weren't fast enough and lay twitching, blood spraying from their carotid arteries.

Wolverine blinked at her through a haze of spraying blood, and the look on his face made her sick with anger. None of the creatures had a very good grip on him yet, but he did not try to shake them off. The expression on his face was one of utter hopelessness. As she crunched down on the brain of one of the horrible creatures, she thought she heard him say something. "Mariko, mai atonisuru ware kokontoko! Don't leave me again, please."

Something happened to Nesson's world. It was as if all the light had been siphoned out and everything looked twisted into a spiral. Nesson was flying, flying upward in very slow circles and he seemed to be getting larger, large enough to cover the whole street, but no… Now he was coalescing again like a pool of water magically levitating and holding its shape without the use of a container. Above him, something loomed- a huge iron animal that looked like a dragon but it wasn't flying by its wings. It must've been riding something invisible. Suddenly, he was flat, and then a ball, and then… Pain. PAIN!

TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

Reunion

Reunion

Chapter 6

"Aaaaaaah!!"

"The fish is caught!" Ice yelled. "Slightly inside out."

"Uuuuuuulk!" Furball let out a guttural heave and nearly lost his bag of Doritos which was all he'd eaten since lunch. Nesson looked awful. All his veins were on the outside of his skin and his rib cage had been reversed with the back portion where the front should have been. Every hair on his body stuck straight up and all his teeth protruded forward. It was like something from a nightmare and it would be many weeks before Furball would wake up without shivering for an hour. "What's wrong with him?" Furball and Ice gasped together.

Beast frowned. "Scott's teleporter isn't worth… the second-hand components he wired together. The harmonics grid's offline and the distance didn't help. Easy, easy. No no don't open your eyes. The pressure from the air might rupture the blood vessels and blind you. Some of his molecules were assembled incorrectly."

Furball was staring at Beast in horror. He felt extremely sorry for the prince. "Some? It looks like a lot more than some. What can you do for him?"

Beast frowned. "I'll have to teleport him again."

"Again?" Talon roared, looking as though she wanted to claw his eyes out. "You've done enough damage. Where will you teleport him to?"

Beast glared at her. "The only mathematically certain dot of earth on the map- back to his point of origin. If I do it from anywhere else who knows what he'll look like."

Furball's eyes widened. "Back to the daemon? Back to the…"

"Yes. The sooner I send him the sooner we can get to work."

"Dad what's wrong with you?" Furball hollered, thoroughly beside himself now. Beast ignored him, turned back to the controls, and the screaming writhing elf vanished again.

Back in London, people were screaming, panicking, running in wild abandon as homunculi flooded the street. Cyclops and Trecia were killing as quickly as they could. Renegade was temporarily diverted from the master, trying to keep his minions away from Wolverine who was recovering slowly. Several dogs, a flock of pigeons, and five police horses also entered the fight much to the objection of their riders. Renegade would've apologized for her Druidic powers, but Jessica's memories explained they wouldn't understand.

"Gade, look! In the bushes. The elf's back." Wolverine said, staggering up, fully healed.

Renegade looked, and there he was, dazed and blinking and lying flat on his back. "What the heck is Beast doing?" she screamed.

"Got me, but that was a really dumb idea." Wolverine pointed out. "I'll keep'em away from him, you play with the master."

The master was coming. Seeing the elf return he vaulted over Jessica's head even as she turned to engage him. "Oh no you don't." She whirled around in human morph and lunged to grab him. This time, she was able to get hold of him, but something happened. It was as if something was pulling him away from her. Once again, elf and daemon disappeared. Every one of them stared in incredulity at the spot where the two had once been.

Wolverine looked surprised. "Darn, Gade. Two misses in one night? You're losing your touch." Jessica bared her human teeth and sighed, looking at Cyclops. "Where are they going?" she demanded.

Cyclops looked down at his Cerebro unit and his eyes went round. "You aren't going to like this. The elf's in ninety seven individual teleport-packets heading for the Wyvern. The master's in vapor form flying toward… the Adirondack Mountains." Trecia went into a magnificent rear and snarled out something in her native tongue.

Jessica was so angry she was calm. "Back to the tear. Energy. He got what he needed from Wolverine. Scott? Will we be able to stop him?"

Cyclops looked around as the curious people began moving in their direction. "If Talon reads that formula within the next twenty minutes we might have a chance. The Blackbird's fast, but we're looking at about an hour at best. I think we'd better get out of here."

Jessica looked crushed. "I'm not giving up. That thing's not going to ruin life for my kids, and it's not going to destroy Cadar. Let's go."

The world was shifting again, but this time it was full of bright light. The light sank into every part of him, filling his skin, and his bones, his soul. The strange twisted shadows rose up as before. The four people were in their cloud box, rising up toward a flat-looking cloud in the sky. Who were these strange people? Now the moon seemed to be part of him. The light! It was too pleasurable to bear and then, then… Hands, voices hurling insults at one another- a strange blue-furred man holding a square black thing with lights on it, running it over Nesson from neck to ankles and over his throat and stomach.

"That's better. He looks human this time anyway." Beast said with relief. He reached down and gently shook him. "Can you hear me?"

The prince opened his eyes and blinked up at him. "Who are you?"

"Never mind that. Are you Prince Nesson?" The elf's expression seemed to freeze and he said nothing. "Oh come on. We didn't grab the wrong one did we? Surely I didn't damage his brain."

Talon was suddenly out of her seat and on her knees beside them. "Sir Beast, Talon Eagle's thoughts say- there is something you must ask an elf of noble birth before he will reveal anything about himself. It is called a pass question." Beast rubbed his temples.

"Leslie, how are you not going crazy with three selves running in your head?"

She paused. "I am just… using the one that is necessary for the moment. There is a problem. I don't know what the prince's pass question is. I don't even know what it pertains to. It could be about his family, his place of birth, his mother's hair color."

Furball sighed. "This sucks."

Talon blinked at him. "What sucks?"

"Nothing. Why do you people have to be so complicated? It's like you're afraid of each other. We've put him through hell and we can't even be sure this is our guy. Talon you must have some idea. Will he not even talk to us without this password thingy?"

Talon closed her eyes. "Son of the woods, where are you from?"

The elf's eyes widened and he looked toward her. "Your speech is not like the people of this world."

Talon's hopeless expression lightened. "I throw caution to the winds in telling you this, but I trust Sir Beast's judgment. I am a student of the centaur Cassious, Prince of the Hamib Araru tribe who is the only son of the Queen Vashta. I am also a practicing Hon."

Now the elf was struggling to sit up. "Hon? How? They-- the line of descent was thought to be broken."

Talon nodded. "It was. I was grabbed from… from my homeland and will be expected to renew the tradition."

The elf smiled sympathetically. "Choose your future companion with care."

Ice gently nudged Talon in the back with his foot, asking her to hurry up. "Sir Beast? I must speak to my protector, Rhiannon. My memories are… still incomplete."

Beast sighed and tried to raise somebody on the Blackbird's communication systems. He got a highly angry Trecia who explained that the master was making for the tear. They were in pursuit and didn't need to waste time running their mouths when their eyes were needed. "I need Jessica on the horn right now." He said firmly. "Talon Eagle's having a senior moment and until she clears it up, we can't talk to Nesson- if this guy's Nesson."

"What do you mean if he's Nesson?" Cyclops cut in. "Won't he tell you who he is?"

"Idiot." Renegade's voice broke in. "No elf of royal birth will just openly tell you his name. Why do you think those scouts of Calavrox were so hostile toward you? Beast, you're clear. What is Talon Eagle's question?"

"What's Nesson's password"

"I cannot tell her directly for I don't know myself, but it has something to do with the seat of the elvish throne in Cadar. The clue lies in his last name, Mori. That is all I am free to say. We are almost out of radio-ran…" There was a fizzle of static, and then nothing.

Beast turned back to the group. "Well, Talon Eagle, that's all you've got. I'm sorry. I'm so sleepy. This feels like a movie. If you can figure this out, I'll publish one of your books all expenses paid. Just remind me when we get back, okay?"

Talon sighed. Who was she kidding? This was insanely impossible! There was nothing here to help her. "Nesson Mori." She mumbled. Suddenly her eyes brightened. "Mori— it means… it means… It's Laurian Elvish for forest! He lives in a forest."

"A forest… a big forest." Furball mumbled, thinking. "In a big tree!" he shrilled, startling everyone. " Cyclops and I saw it when we were looking for Renegade. We ran into King Calavrox's scouts too and they were…"

"A big tree…" Talon mused, and then, she smiled, the look rising into her eyes and completely changing her face. Furball felt his spirits lift just from seeing it. Perhaps now, something about this mission would go right. Everyone let out a collective sigh of victory and relief. "This king of plants can crack stone

And springs from a kernel all on its own

It forms the hills of its unknown capricious will

It is the home of the first Elvin king

Born in the dawn of earth's first flowering.

What is the name of your family tree?"

The elf finally sat up and looked at them all. "It is Chikara, or strength in your tongue, daughter of Hon. I am Prince Nesson Mori of the Laurel Forest. Are you really a Hon?"

"I am."

Nesson sighed, looking nervously around. "But you are blind—or…" Still dizzy, he crawled toward her on the floor and took one of her hands. "Blinded by dark magic and… transplanted before your birth to the world of grey. Eilsel. Eilsel Ilonwi of Eagle's Crag. This is… this is impossible! You found me. Out of all the teeming masses of confused asleep people who inhabit this place…" he sighed. "It was terrible! The people of the grey came when I was a boy. They took me and my father to… a building under the ground and sucked out our blood with hollow metal claws. My father disappeared and I escaped. If they have killed him, I must become king of the Laurel Forest and I remember very little about it."

Beast nodded. "Your father lives. We saw him in Cadar. He is concerned for you."

Nesson's face fell. "You've been to Cadar? How do you know of it?"

Beast nodded. "Cadar is our mission. For the moment your kingdom is still intact, but we do not know how much longer it will remain that way."

Nesson frowned. "It's been nearly… twelve years since I've seen it. I learned to make use of my gift and earned my bread by asking circus animals to obey the commands of the grey people. I also learned their speech. Everything was alright as long as I kept my rates higher than my competitors and some kind of cap over my head. And then… she came, a withered-up she-taur with a sword but she wasn't-- solid. She was like a mist. It was like she'd sent her sword to me with her thoughts. Only blood-witches can do that. She kept slashing at my back and wouldn't let me turn and fight. Now, now I know why. She was sent to hide something. She was in trouble, perhaps my entire world is in trouble by now."

"You'd be right there." Ice said. "We don't have time to explain. Your mines are malfunctioning and the veil that separates your world from ours is becoming visible. The answer to your world's problem is written in your skin."

Nesson looked startled. "The On'Yon'Vo. I did not think there was anyone living who knew it."

Talon spoke up. "Cassious knew it, and he taught it to me. The master of the Homunculus succeeded in stealing my memories and containing them within a cube of blue stone. Rhiannon Hipona, the daughter of the horses and the last of the Druidic priestesses is my protector. She somehow has the missing pieces the master was unable to capture. The veil that separates Cadar from the grey world is becoming visible. The master of the homunculus…"

"Wants to expand his empire. I know. Well, Hon. Now the remaining bits of my story make sense and we both know what must be done. I must ask how you plan to do this."

"She's gotta touch you." Furball said, feeling a jealous twinge.

Nesson looked embarrassed but only for a second or so. Without looking at them, he flung off his shirt and turned around. "Be quick if you can. There is need for haste for all of us."

Talon moved into position and looked at Beast. "Sir Beast, once I am in motion I will not be able to stop to repeat anything or the letters will be suspect for errors."

"I can type faster than you can think. I'll keep up. We've gotta get moving. They're thirty minutes away from the tear and we still have to gather the ingredients for the formula." Talon knelt behind Nesson, feeling randomly around for a few seconds before orienting on a spot high up on his left shoulder. Furball watched as the fingers of her left hand flew deftly over the wide whirls and loops of the strange writing while her right hand found the center of each and picked up the vertical lines and dots within them. He also noticed that they were all one long line though it crossed and recrossed itself. Either he was thoroughly exhausted, or the stuff really was beginning to look like writing. Finally, Talon stopped at the bottom of his right set of ribs and moved back to her starting point again. "I have it. Are you ready?"

"Go." Beast said without pause.

"Eight sea pearls freshly ground, nine perfect nuggets of green jade ground, one scale from a male white dragon, three Cadar ounces of pure Acarinite, and one drop of blood from the last daughter of Hon."

"Wow!" Furball said after a moment's silence. "That's it? After all this running around and senseless riddles? That's it? Cassious was right. You were the key to saving Cadar. I'm a lucky guy. I could kiss you right now."

Talon went from modest embarrassment to hostility in the space of a second. "Try it and I'll wear your front teeth as a ring."

Furball sighed and retreated. "I told you it wasn't too big."

Talon shrugged. "And when did Cassious say anything about my saving Cadar?"

Before Furball could answer, Beast's speech cut him off. "Aaaaannnnd that's supposed to be fed into the machine that powers Cadar? That can't possibly be enough substance to reverse a world-wide… unveiling. The whole thing will barely fill my palm."

Talon suddenly sagged against the seat behind her and yawned. "I only read what is written. I don't make sense of it."

Nesson got to his feet and put his shirt back on. "It may be just as well. Remember, Sir, you're dealing with strong magic. Very little about it is logical. Now, I must ask a favor of you."

Beast smiled. "What ever I can do to make up for our unfortunate first meeting, I will not hold back."

Nesson smiled and shook his hand warmly. "Then use your… magic or what ever it is to get me to the rest of your team mates making for the tear."

Talon's eyes widened. "You're going back to the master of the Homunculus?"

Nesson shook his head. "No. The Druid is unusually strong for her age and may succeed in destroying him, but your friends will need elvish eyes to see through the tricks of the daemon and his army. If he manages to get the formula, it is no consequence now. It won't matter as long as you work fast. We will wait for you as long as we can. Farewell." Beast instructed Nesson to stand in the center of the silver disk between the pilot and copilot seats, pressed a series of buttons, and the elf vanished.

Beast felt strangely excited and let down at once. They had found the formula, but how were they going to get it in less than thirty minutes? "This is beginning to look impossible again. Murphy's law- if it can go wrong, it will." He turned around with a heavy sigh and paused at the strange lack of noise. Talon, Furball, and Ice were leaning on each other's shoulders against the rear bench seat in a child-like pile, fast asleep. Young adults were so strange, he thought. He had to smile at the thought of Talon agreeing to let Furball kiss her. That would probably never happen, but what if it did? Well, he could think of other people worse than Talon he could be involved with. He looked over the three of them, smudging Ice out of the picture in his head, and smiled. It wouldn't be that bad. He sighed as reality crashed in on him. It was already Sunday morning in VR. How would the end pan out? They had the formula, but there would be no quick way in procuring the ingredients or getting it into Cadar without getting mixed up in the homunculus army. But there was still Nesson and the elves. There was still their centaur allies, and if they needed her, there was Beyoga Rzin, the blood-witch.

"..ge." Renegade tossed the radio back onto the co-pilot's seat and frowned at it. "Sometimes life is just too damn complicated," she growled. Her eyes softened a small amount when she spied Wolverine. He looked like he was still fighting some inner demons of his own. Morphing house cat, she crawled up into his lap. _Talk to me_ she seemed to put out.

Barely breathing out his words, he did so… stroking her fur absently. "I've never felt regret like this 'gade. I couldn't do anything. I felt… pinned beneath their eyes. I couldn't help the rage they got from me. The energy, as you called it."

_Buried rage. You couldn't have stopped it if you wanted to. We all have it, my friend. Yours is simply easier to feel. You have plenty to be furious over. Do not blame yourself, though your emotions now are merely from the rage that was drained from you. You will recover once your energy is replenished… though your regenerative powers will not help you with this. All we have to do is fix this. Stop this madman from destroying all our worlds._

He gave a dry chuckle. "Easier said than done, 'gade."

_A wise man once told me that the easy path was no challenge and that if something wasn't worth fighting for – even if we lost – then there was no reason to live._

"Chuck, eh?"

The female smiled up at him, purring under his hand. _There will be no regrets if the master wins_, she 'said'. _There will be chaos and death in all realms. We must not let that happen. Logan, we must fight and we must win"._

He nodded down at her. "I agree. So what are you doing sitting on my lap like my pet, 'gade?"

She leapt off his lap and morphed panther in mid spring. "Because Eye there might strap me to a chair if I pace. Why the hell aren't we there yet?!"

The teleported flared to life as Cyclopes opened his mouth to chastise the druid female. When it cleared, an elf stood in the center of the teleportation platform. He immediately saw Trecia and gave her a low bow. "Daughter of Denryx, it is an honor to see you again."

Trecia returned the bow and nodded. "As it is to see you whole and well, Prince Nesson."

His eyes then sought out the druid. _"I had not imagined a priestess of the druids quite so young, daughter of the horses," _he said in his Sylvan language.

Renegade gave a low bow to the elfin prince. _"No more surprised than I," _she replied. "But pray, my prince, please use the grey man's tongue when here with my companions. It proves far more useful."

"What are you doing here, bub," Wolverine growled. He had stood up when the male arrived, but had made no further advancement. "Isn't Talon supposed to be reading something off your back?"

"She has already done so, good warrior. I am here to help you see through the Daemon's disguises and his army's treachery." He stood looking at the assembled group with care for a long moment before sitting down in an empty chair. "The Daemon will try to cloud the vision of the sons of men even before we get to the tear. He will have an army waiting to dissuade you from entering. Our goal will be to delay him long enough for your friends to get the ingredients, combine them, and feed them into the machine."

"What ingredients?" Cyclopes asked.

"How easily are they found," Wolverine interjected.

Renegade gave a feral chuckle. "I'm sure it's nothing Talon can't handle. I mean, it's not like she'll have to barter with a dragon, right?"

Nesson frowned. "Actually…"

Talon sat leaning against Furball, slumbering in and out of her dreams. Images of centaurs and needles and beasts and bones danced eerily through her mind. She shifted slightly, barely registering the fury arm that looped itself around her waist for support. _Centaurs. Dragons. Needles. Beasts. Can't go…_ "Beast's back," she declared with an upright jolt. The back of her head smashed Furball in the chin, causing both of them to wince, but she didn't slow down. "Beast, didn't the blood witch claw at your back with a needle as well?"

Beast, still drowsy, nodded. "Yes, we already read it. That's how we got Nesson. That's it."

"What if it wasn't, dad," Furball said, catching on. "What if there's more? Talon, you're a genius."

Talon blushed and quickly looked away. "Anyway, can I check it out?"

The furry beast nodded again. "Sure. Check away." He turned his back to her.

Talon repeated her earlier process of 'reading' on Beast. "The letters have changed… It says Hephaistotulos."

Furball looked at her with raised brows. "And," he prompted.

Talon's shoulders bounced in a shrug. "Nesson is gone. All it says is Hephaistotulos. I have no idea what it means. It could be the name of a city, a vault, a country, or even…"

"..a great white dragon," Ice supplied.

Talon Eagle nodded. "Or that." Again her shoulders bounced. "I just read it; I don't make sense of it."

On a sudden inspiration, he quickly turned back to the computer and googled dragons. Sifting through all the mythological references, he found something of interest though he could not believe their luck. There, taken from a side view was a picture of a completely white dragon. "Oh my God!" he said out loud, very loud he discovered as all three of his teammates jumped.

"What is it, Sir Beast?" Talon asked.

Beast yawned and replaced his glasses so he could see the text on the screen. "Talon Eagle, I've found our dragon. He's in a jade mine in a remote part of China, and guess what else? He's really white. According to this newspaper, they say it's non-aggressive. Mothers have let their young children pat it, but if anyone tries to enter the tunnel it inhabits, it's over. Four have already been burned to death."

Talon smiled. "There is hope for my world yet. Sir Beast, if ever I am united with my people at Eagle's Crag, I will be sure to publish your exploits in our annals of myth and legend."

"Are you remembering more of Eilsel now?" Beast asked.

Talon looked far off. "Yes. I am the daughter of King Calavrox's personal historian. It is as if my mind were full of doors. The longer I have to do with Talon Eagle's memories, the more of her returns to me."

Neither of them seemed to be aware of Furball who stood behind them. The expression on his face was strangely sad. The more of Talon Eagle-Eilsel came back, there was less and less of Leslie-Talon. He suddenly didn't want to lose her, but he didn't know who she was, or how to explain himself and just kept quiet. "Luckily," Beast rambled. "Our current course points us straight at Asia. Barring any unforeseen circumstances we should be in China in ten minutes."

Talon Eagle's eyes widened. "Ten? That leaves us only twenty."

Beast put a hand on her shoulder. "I know, and I'm sorry. Next time I'll put decorum aside and take the Black Bird no questions asked."

Talon nodded. "I can forgive you because I know you are a worthy man. Let us make for this China."

"What do you mean she needs to get a scale from a dragon?!" Renegade had returned to her human form and stood glaring at Nesson. "Where the hell are they going to find a dragon who will reasonably give up a scale to a bunch of strangers? White dragons are like DANGEROUS if you don't know." Lapsing into Sylvan druidic, the female continued her rant much to the confusion of the others in the jet.

The only word Nesson comprehended after she lapsed was Hephaistotulos. "That's the name of the white dragon residing in China at the present. He's an agreeable fellow… as long as they ask for the scale and not try to take it. He is aware of what's at stake should the veil fail."

"A dragon will never willingly give up a scale from his or her back. Do you realize the POWER in a dragon scale? Even a shed one? No, those are horded just as valuably as arcanite itself. They're going to get themselves killed," Renegade growled.

Cyclopes cut the ranting druid off. "Beast and the others won't let anything happen to Talon, Renegade. You need to trust those YOU appointed guardians to keep her safe."

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

Reunion

Reunion

Chapter 7

Furball chuckled. "Aren't you worried?"

Talon looked at him. "Why should I be?"

Furball gave her a look. "Um, we're going to pluck a scale off a creature that could swallow a bus."

Talon looked blank. "A bus? You mean one of those two-wheeled cabs?"

Furball sighed. "Oh. I forgot. You're… Heelsnale now. Let's try another example. Maybe something bigger. A ship, a large gigantic behemoth of a barge the size of an entire state. Do you get the picture now?"

Talon smiled. "It may be big, but it is a living thing with a brain, a brain that can probably reason as well if not better than we."

Furball smiled. "Now you're talking sense. Do you have any idea how we're going to do this?"

Talon's eyes widened. "I told you, I only read the On'Yon'Vo. I cannot aid you in subduing the dragon."

"Really?" Beast said. "I've heard they're fond of eating maidens. You could keep his head busy while one of us pulls off a scale somewhere else."

Talon frowned. "So your plan is to feed me to it?"

"Oh no no." Furball said quickly. "Our plan is to use you as bait."

Talon gave a resigned sigh. "Very well. We are a team, and if I am to be on the dragon's business end, I will do everything I can to keep his attention."

"What does Leslie think about this?" Beast asked with a rye smile.

Talon's eyes seemed to widen in terror for a second, then she composed herself. "We are demented."

Furball threw an arm about her. "That's my girl. Think po-- Ou! sitive." He grunted as Talon elbowed him nearly out of his seat. "Oh come on!" he moaned, rubbing his ribs. "This might be the last time I see you alive and you're abusing me?" Talon didn't bother commenting further.

Suddenly, the Cerebro unit which fell at Furball's feet began beeping loudly. Furball dove for the device, shoving Ice's legs out of the way. "I think you broke it." Ice mumbled in his sleep. "Mom? Get my pop tart out of the toaster."

"Oh great." Beast groaned. "Please tell me that's not the master."

"No." Furball said, checking the readout. "Unless he's dead ahead and about ten times more powerful."

Beast shrugged. "Oookaay. That means we're close to a new mutant."

"Uh-oh. What a time for that to happen." Ice said with a yawn, opening his eyes. "What's happening?"

"What's its M registry?" Beast asked Furball.

"Well it's… three thousand even and it's not a dot. It's a blob. It fills up more than half the screen! Dad this thing's getting hot!" Furball said.

Beast turned his eyes from the controls and swore audibly. "What under Heaven makes a spike that big"

The glint of bright lights from below caught Furball's attention. "Dad! Dad! Look down there. What ever it is we're right on top of it and so is half of China's army."

Beast looked down at the land below. His brow furrowed with concern. "It's… well it's… The mine. What the heck is going on?"

"It's because of the dragon. There are camera crews and soldiers everywhere. We can't land there since we have no cover." Furball said nervously. "The place is locked down tighter than a drum."

Ice chuckled. "Well now we know why the unit's going crazy."

Beast was amazed. "Incredible! Magic must be nothing more than a specialized form of mutation."

Talon looked confused. "What would soldiers be doing at a dragon's lair?"

Ice answered the question. "Talon, in China, the dragon is a revered creature. It is the symbol of royalty and strength."

Talon looked confused. "But what if it decides to attack them?"

"More importantly," Beast added. "What if the soldiers want to attack it? We can't fool an entire army about our purpose here." A panel of lights blinked to life on the screen. "Descent in two minutes. You'd better strap in." Beast warned them.

"I don't like this." Furball groaned. "I've got my mother's vision and I can see their guns and tanks and razor wire from here. Dad, this is not a good idea."

"Jason I'm not listening to you. I still haven't got any sleep, It is Sunday morning, I'm nearly blind, and Talon has to do her job. She hasn't come this far to cut and run now. We can worry about bullets later. Why don't you put your brain to good use and help me come up with a diversion good enough to confuse the Chinese military? Talon Eagle? I'm putting you down in the heart of chaos. You'll have no room for mistakes. Get in that tunnel as fast as you can and try to make yourself as appealing as possible. Furball and I will deal with the soldiers."

"Hey Coach! What about me?" Ice said.

"You're going with Talon. Your people know dragons and all their bowing and ceremonial stuff. Maybe it'll respect you enough not to make breakfast of the last daughter of Hon."

Ice grinned. "Well, we don't need her, all we need is her blood and there will be plenty of that left over." Furball stared daggers at him. "What are you going to do about it, Jason? Would you be her knight in shining armor, literally?"

Furball paused. Would he really launch himself at Godzilla gone wrong just to save a woman who plainly had no regard for him? Yes. Yes he would. He still had hope for them. "I'm already running into the teeth of a very hostile army, Kim. I've got nothing against the Chinese. They could imprison us all for interfering in their operations here and they would be in the right. None of us could get out of here even at the request of the President himself. That's the truth. Now put that in your pipe and smoke it. I hope that dragon eats you for breakfast."

"Boys!" Beast said pointedly in a sleepy attempt to insult them. "Talon, on the teleportation disk. Ice, you too. Good luck to both of you."

Talon held up a hand. "Sir Beast?"

"What? Get moving."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Play nice with the big lizard. I need you in one piece at the end of this."

"Why?"

"My son's rooting for you, and I don't want to see him hurt."

"Daaaaaad." Furball groaned blushing furiously.

Talon smiled and turned to him, holding out her hand. "Root for me. I believe now is a good time to give you what you asked for."

"What was that?" Furball asked, confused. Talon lowered her gaze, unsure what to do and at a loss as to how to say it, then Furball remembered. "Oh! Really? Gees you really have lost it."

"Adirondacks coming up in thirty seconds," Cyclopes reported. "Strap yourselves in and prepare for… WOAH!" The jet turned sharply as two red dragons swatted at it. "Strap in now! We've got company!"

Nesson stared at Cyclopes as if he was lost. "There is nothing there, Sir Cyclopes. It is merely an illusion."

The jet rocked as something crashed into it.

Cyclopes turned to glare at the elf as if to say, 'see'.

The elf shook his head. "It is there because you believe it to be. It is merely a deception. Disbelieve."

Renegade started chanting in druidic again, this time casting a spell. The dragons shimmered and then were gone. "Dispel magic," she offered to the others.

Cyclopes frowned. "You and the Scarlet Witch must be related." He then focused on landing the Blackbird.

As the jet's hatch opened, the group was greeted by an army of goblins, trolls, ogres, and hommoculus. Cyclopes eyed Nesson and asked, "I supposed these aren't real either?"

"Oh no," the elf corrected, "those are quite real."

"The master's mine," Renegade growled as she leapt into the midst of things.

Talon and Ice materialized in a tumbled heap at the entrance to the mine. There were soldiers everywhere and about twenty of them set off in their direction. "Run!" Ice yelled, taking Talon by the wrist and dragging her after him into the gloom. Bullets sparked off the tunnel walls behind them and Ice shouted something in Mandarin over his shoulder. "That should keep them off for a while."

"What did you say?" Talon gasped.

"I told them their mothers were all big fat turtles. Oh my." Ice stopped dead in his tracks with such force he made Talon skid into the wall beside them. "I can see him- well I can see his breath.

Talon tried to stanch the blood from her bleeding nose. "Is he really as big as a barge?"

"Oh yeah. He's lying down all curled up like a cat. He looks like a mountain of salt crystal. He's… beautiful in a spiky defensive kind of way. Talon, I am not ashamed to tell you I'm scared. I don't know if I can be fluid enough to do the dragon dance correctly like this."

Talon sighed. "We didn't come this far just to look at him. Beast and Furball are keeping the army back and they won't hold off for long. Let's go."

Ice gave a shuttering breath. "Okay, daughter of Hon. Oh, and Talon Eagle? What happens if… what happens if Beast and Furball don't make it down here? Which one of us will get the scale?"

Talon smiled. "I don't think we'll have to take one. He might just be willing to give us one from his nest."

"His nest? Oh my. You mean he's got eggs in there?"

"No. You said your people knew about dragons. Dragons hoard things, shiny valuable things. Treasure. They also like to scratch themselves against the walls of their caves. He may have rubbed off a few scales."

"Whose memories are these?"

"Eilsel's. Point me in the right direction. Come behind me and… do what ever it is you do." The two advanced, Ice singing softly and entering into an elaborate pattern dance as Talon walked ahead of him, her cane before her. They rounded a turn in the tunnel and stopped about ten feet from the creature. He raised his head and sniffed, watching them, his forked tongue flicking like a snake's.

"Go on." Ice whispered. "He's just staring at us. He's not even nervous."

They kept going until Talon stubbed her toe on the dragon's extended front claw. It snorted and tossed its head, but it still didn't move. Talon did. She leapt back right into Ice who fell in an undignified pose to the floor. "Sorry." She whispered, quivering with fear. The moment his dance was interrupted, the dragon seemed very interested in them. He moved into a sitting position and stretched, putting Talon between his front legs. "Talon," Ice whispered. "Look out. He's getting up."

Talon took a deep breath and took one more step. The dragon fixed his shining eyes on her and lowered his head to with inches of her own. "Talon I'd stop right there if I were you if you really don't want to get roasted. He's less than a foot from you." Talon reached out a hand and let it fall high up on the dragon's foreleg. It still didn't move. Instantly, she was more confident. She lowered her head and sank into a little bow, placing her left fist in the palm of her right hand. "White dragon of Cadar, I offer you the back of my neck in submission and respect. Forgive me for my bluntness but your world is in danger and I require one of your scales." The dragon opened its mouth and rose to his feet.

"Okay maybe bluntness isn't the best approach in this situation." Ice said belatedly as the dragon's eyes waxed bright. "Let me handle this." Ice walked up and began his dance again. For a minute, the dragon watched him, and then he began to copy him. "I don't believe it! Father would be so proud of me. I've hypnotized him. Go, Talon. Get a scale. We only have ten minutes."

"What?" Talon gasped. "Ten minutes? Ten minutes. This is impossible."

"Just go." Ice said. "This is really hard work you know? I'll be sore for a week. You'd better be glad we're friends." Talon made her way along the dragon's body until she got to the lower part of his tail. She locked her fingers into a scale and pulled hard.

The dragon's long neck whipped around with such force, the wind from its momentum threw Ice against the far wall. "Taaaaalon!!" he screamed. The palm-sized scale came away in her hand. The dragon's top teeth raked her forearm, sending up a small shower of blood. "That was not a good strategy. Now you're cursed for ever for harming a dragon."

Talon grabbed hold of the creature's nose with both hands, purposely sinking the middle fingernail of her left hand into its right nostril. "Your one vulnerable spot. Defend yourself. I am prepared to keep our agreed price." She said softly. As it swung its head to free itself she went with the motion and landed in the deep yu of its long thick neck. Its half metal hide twitched like a horse's does when it tries to get rid of a bothersome insect. She dug her knees into the space at the bottom of its neck and sank her fingers beneath some thick scales further up. "Forgive me for your ill-treatment, Lord of the skies. Hey Ice, we've got a world to save here. Into its nest!"

"What? I'm not going in there. You're about to go down its throat."

"Follow its tail. He'll do everything he can not to let all of his body be out of contact with it. Get in there and do some looting."

"You're asking me to be cursed too?"

"I'm asking you to gather the ingredients for the formula. Now go!"

Ice thought hard. Just what were the ingredients for the formula? The dragon was really getting riled now; the pain in the torn membrane of its nose was driving the kindness out of it. For a moment, Ice saw Talon hanging up side down from its neck like a human medallion. Why didn't she just let go? He was probably hungry seeing as the soldiers had blocked up his only egress. "Let's see. Ummmmm some of these gold coins, this pearl necklace, ummmmmm hey this is a really nice knife! What about these little green things? I remember something about nuggets. Yeah these are jade. How many do I need? Crap. I'll just grab a handful."

"Iiiiiiiice! Hurrrry! I've got word from Beast! Our time is up. The soldiers are coming!"

"Oh man! Talon I'm coming! I've got everything… I hope. I'm coming I'm coming!!"

"No! Stay there! You might want to go to the far wall though."

"Why?"

Booooooooooom!

"We've got help that's why." Talon laughed with a triumphant cheer as Beast, Furball and five soldiers stepped through a layer of dust and bits of falling stone as a huge whole formed in the wall. Everyone froze and gasped as coins, jewels, and ten or twelve lost swords from several valuable collections of China and Japan rained waste-deep over them.

Renegade was running on adrenaline from start to where she was now. Shifting between forms which ranged from panther – her favorite – to lion, eagle, horse, wolf, and griffin, she waded into the army headed directly for where part of her knew the master would be. Close enough to battle, but far enough away not to be canon fodder. Rhiannon's memories were at the forefront of her mind, but Jessica and Renegade fought to be heard. The result was a catastrophic lust to mutilate the man – or boy – that threatened all her homes.

Cyclopes tried to keep an eye on the ever changing druid, but the chaos surrounding him was far more important. He was relieved to see Wolverine hacking through their enemies with renewed vigor, a maniacal grin covering his face with every hommoculus he cut apart.

"There are too many," Trecia shouted as she nearly got clobbered by a troll's club.

Nesson cheered. "Not any more. Our kinsmen join us!"

And indeed they were. Trecia turned to see her father's army tear through the veil with the Elvin archers upon their backs. The tide had turned.

TBC...


	8. Chapter 8

Reunion

Reunion

Chapter 8

The dragon's arrowhead-shape tail had been singed in the explosion and so ended his tolerance for pain. He left his treasure hoard with a great leap. Talon lost her grip and was flung through the air. She rammed the wall to her right and sank senseless to the floor in a heap. Instantly, the dragon froze. One could almost read its shock at its own ferocity in its startled posture. It was a move unbelievably swift for so large a beast. Ice gave a groaned exclamation in Chinese.

"I told you. I told you not to take it by force. We've got eight minutes now. You gave up everything for eight minutes for a world that wanted you dead. I don't understand you."

Furball went into a running lunge, but Beast held him back. "Jason. Don't. Stay back. There's nothing we can do. I… don't sense anything. It was instantaneous. We have to have help. We have to tell them the truth." He said, gesturing at the soldiers who were staring in confusion from Talon to Ice and back to Beast and his son. "Ice? Translate and don't make it polite. We need something to grind stone with."

One of the soldiers pointed toward the village.

"He says he is a jeweler and he has equipment to polish and cut diamonds." Ice said, never taking his eyes from Talon. She still hadn't moved.

"Dad! You're not just going to leave her there?" Furball said in shock as Beast set off after the man and his frightened contingent.

"Jason, I don't know much about dragons but I do know about myth. If Talon offered herself, she cannot renege on her promise. We have to leave."

Furball stared back into the tunnel. "I can't. What did she say, Kim? Tell me exactly."

"Well, Jase, she offered him the back of her neck for one of his scales."

Furball sighed. "Go with Dad. He might get curious and forget why we're here."

"What are you going to do?" Ice asked, looking worried.

"I'm going to try and make a deal with that dragon."

Ice shook his head. "Not you too. Haven't you learned anything from Talon's mistake? It's not that he means to be dangerous. Dragons are benevolent protectors of all mankind, but don't mess with them or try to deceive them."

"Ice?"

"What?"

"We're running out of time. Go."

"Jason you're like an older brother to me, man. She's dead. Beast said so. Don't do this."

"Ice? Now." Ice sighed, and ran to catch up with Beast.

The master stood behind an array of ogres, watching the battle with grim determination. Without warning his entourage was beset by a dozen bears. Startled, the ogres took off after them with clubs raised despite their master's raised cries for them to return.

An ordinary looking tabby cat stared at the back of the master for a long moment before pouncing at the man… midway changing from tabby to panther.

The master cried out in shock as he fell forward, but turned to a mist before he hit the ground.

Rhiannon/Renegade shifted back to her human form as soon as she hit the ground. "Face me, Ulrike Draygon, and suffer for your crimes."

The master rematerialized in front of the female and sneered at her. "What gives you the right to judge me, coward? You fled my world to seek safety in the grey man's. You could not kill me then when we were lovers, so you can not kill me now."

Rhiannon shook her head. "You deceived me then, stole my identity, and left me for dead," she clarified. "I did not flee. You fled. I followed you."

"All for naught," he cackled. "I shall be done with you once and for all, after you watch me destroy your world of good."

"Over my dead body," she growled.

"All in good time."

Furball turned around and moved back into the tunnel. He twitched his wrist and activated a very bright search beam in his watch. The tunnel was a wreck of broken bits of stone and scattered jewelry, and there was Talon, still lying where she'd fallen.

Something was happening. The dragon was moving. He saw its huge white side turn and block the rest of the tunnel from view as he moved slowly toward them, his head low to the ground and hardly breathing.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Furball said. "You want this bit of carrion in front of you. Do you even care that it once had feelings?" The dragon halted, raising his head and looking into his eyes. "Come on. You've already claimed five lives today. Why not make it an even six?" Furball challenged. After a few seconds, the dragon turned from Furball and sniffed at Talon. He rolled her over with his massive nose and sank to the floor beside her like a glimmering mountain, luxuriant and long-lined, looking more like one of the great cats in terms of musculature than a serpent. "Wait." Furball said his voice little more than a whisper. "One more ingredient." He tore a strip from the bottom of his shirt and made his way over to them. The gash on her wrist was just beginning to clot. He bent and gathered what he could. It was all he could do to touch her. "I'm a… sorry protector, no? I've failed you, and Renegade. Now it falls to me. Maybe I was wrong. It may have been too big for you alone, but now I'm here. Five minutes left. Five minutes to the ending of a world."

"Go." said a booming voice from behind him. Furball looked up, and met the dragon's somber gaze. "She has done what she came to do; now you must do the same. In your excitement and panic over her demise, you forgot an ingredient."

Furball looked up. "What did I forget?"

"Akaranite, several ounces of it if memory serves me right."

"Why do you tell me this?

"I have some. You cannot save her, or our world without it. A warning to you. I can heal her, but everything of Cadar will return to Cadar at the sealing of the vale."

Furball thought about that. "You're wrong, Dragon. Talon Eagle might return, but Leslie is from Reality. She belongs with us… in her own world."

The dragon shook his massive head and dug about in the heaps of stones behind him and drew out three neon-greenish white oblong rocks about the size of a man's bunched fist. "You're asking her to forget who she is all over again. You're asking her to continue to live in ignorance. Do you have the right to make that choice?"

Furball cringed. This was hard stuff. "Ignorance or innocence? I know who she is. She is my friend. You may have needed Eilsel's memories to save this world, but she is dead and for ever will be dead. Talon is alive. She does not belong with you. How can you tear her from everything she knows and make her stay with you?" The dragon nodded sadly.

"You really care for this shadow-child, don't you? The Homunculus made several shadow-children of the remaining Hon. Talon Eagle; Eilsel Ilonwi of Eagle's Crag was the only one to survive the process. They figured no one would be able to unravel the mystery of the memory cube. I sent Rhiannon Hippona to serve in the guise of Jessica to prepare her for the day when Ulrike Draygon, the Master of the Homunculus would come out of hiding and try to recreate his empire. They both have done their jobs and it is time for you to do yours. You are correct in this matter. She shall stay here; though to bend the law will bring an unforgivable curse upon us. Once the vale is sealed, she will never be able to return to Cadar. She will be virtually erased from our time. Is this still what you want- what she would want?"

Furball nodded. "There is no other way."

"Perhaps you are right. Your joy at seeing her returned to her world will be worth it. Unknown mortal from an unknown land, go quickly now, and save Cadar."

Furball took the stones and ran hard, fighting the urge to look back. As much as he didn't want to, he knew he had to take the dragon at his word. He was running. One minute. "Oh Renegade I hope you've killed that demon. I'm sorry I killed your cousin." Fur Ball panted.

Renegade circled Rhiannon's former ally cautiously. The druid had not liked being shoved out of the way, but the former X-Men knew more about the ways of combat than the other.

The master circled with her, keeping her in front of him always. "What's the matter, Rhian? Cat got your tongue?"

Renegade leapt to the left of him, using a simple roundhouse kick to knock him off his feet. Before he could react, she shifted panther and pounced on him. "I don't think so," she chuckled. "You threaten all my worlds: Cadar, VR, and Reality. My family waits for me in Reality and I will not let you or your former lover prevent me from returning to them."

A swift kick from him knocked the great cat's back feet from under her and he rolled out of the way. "You talk to much, grey man."

"You get your powers from hate and destruction, but what happens, I wonder, when you are sad?" Renegade realized that the master got his power from the air as well, so she would have to keep him grounded. "Do you still love Rhiannon?"

"That weak willed woman, sent by a dragon to stop me? Ha! As if I could."

Rhiannon's memories cried out in pain, but Renegade paid them no heed. "So if I were to kill her, you'd not shed a tear?"

"Not one," he confirmed.

Renegade leapt at him, clawing at his face, chest, and stomach. Her claws came away sticky and with bits of skin clinging to them.

The master screamed in pain and fury and drew a wicked looking blade from his belt.

Renegade's pain flared to life as several hommoculus leapt upon her and started their own raking and hacking on her body. So caught up in trying to distract him, she had forgotten to watch her own flank.

Charging the distracted female, the master used his momentum to slash the female along her left side from forefoot to hind food. From the blood on the blade and the way the female crumpled to the ground, he guessed he had gotten a good bite on her. "Not so tough now, are you Rhiannon."

Renegade stood up shakily. "Rhiannon is mute. I am the one who fights you now. My name is Renegade and I will kill you." Shifting, Renegade watched as the master charged her again. Chuckling as her shape grew by leaps and bounds – and the master's sword bounced harmlessly off her scales – the female shook the hommoculus off her back. Inhaling deeply she cried out, "I am the embodiment of good and nature. You have no power over me."

Wolverine looked up to see an enormous green dragon booming out what sounded like a cheesy movie line. "Renegade," he awed… his left claws slicing a hommoculus in half while he watched.

Back in the village, Beast was looking at his printout. "Dragon scale, eight sea pearls, jade, blood, akaranite… Akaranite? How the heck are we supposed to…?"

"Dad! Dad I've got it!" Furball panted, falling into them and throwing the bit of cloth and rocks at their feet. Beast caught the strip of cloth before it hit the ground. "We can't have the sample contaminated. You did well, Jason. Thirty seconds." Furball's lungs were bursting and he shut his eyes against the reality before him. Tears squeezed through his lashes and the dust on his face. "Jason. This isn't over. We need you. I'm getting good reports from Cyclops. They've got Ulrike Draygon at bay. Jessic… Rhiannon's working on him and the elves are there too. You are both so close, Jason. She wouldn't want you grieving when we are so close. Now, on your feet."

Renegade leaned her great scaly head over the master and smiled her razor sharp teeth at him. "Hold daemon and go nowhere."

The master tried to turn into his mist form, but found himself unable to do so. "Rhiannon," he cried. "Don't let her do this."

Rhiannon frowned down at him. "I knew that when I was sent to the grey man's world to stop you that I would have to die in order to be successful."

"We could rule together, my love," he begged. "There's nothing that could stop you in this form."

Rhiannon's jaws opened wide as a single tear rolled down her large snout. "You could," she whispered as she snapped him up in her powerful jaw. "Die in peace, Ulrike."

The daemon was screaming.

A powerful snap of Rhiannon's jaws silenced him, for good.

Wolverine continued to watch. "Pretty anticlimactic, Ren," he told the dragon.

The great beast went stiff and then fell.

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

Reunion

Reunion

Chapter 9

Twenty seconds. The grinding wheel gleamed red hot as the remaining akaranite was slowly reduced to dust. Every soldier was in various poses of worship depending on their religion as the tiny tray at the bottom of the apparatus began to fill with powders of white and green as the scale, pearls, jade and Akaranite were mixed by a gentle puff of air that moved it around. Eighteen seconds. Beast stepped in and squeezed the bit of cloth as hard as he could. The tiniest drop of blood oozed to the end of the cloth, spiked, and made contact with the powder. Ten seconds.

There was a great roar as something flew over them trailing what looked like a white cloud after it. Furball looked up and saw the white dragon, a screaming Trecia, five other centaurs, two brownies, Nesson, a great green dragon, and a squared blue blur he couldn't quite make out emerge from it. In The dragon's front claws was Talon, apparently asleep. A gaping black nothing opened in the space before them. Without warning, the tray ripped itself loose from the machine and was devoured by the blackness. Just as it sucked the white dragon in to it, he let Talon go. The cloud like stuff wrapped around her, and she drifted lazily to the ground like a bit of dandelion fluff. Zero.

Talon was suddenly awake and on her feet now and all three men let loose with much undignified screams. "She has done it! Renegade's done it! Fantasy for all innocents is saved! Wait, saved from what? It was like a dream."

Furball stepped forward. He needed to know who this girl was. "What happened to Rhiannon?"

Talon blinked. "Who? Hey where's everybody else?"

"Leslie." Furball said in relief. "You're back. You're really back."

Talon gave him a strange look. "Are you okay?"

Furball laughed. "Talon, I'm more than okay. If you only knew."

Talon shrugged and pulled her long black hair out of her collar. "It's so hot! Where are we?"

"Never mind that. Let's go." Beast said. "Renegade is weakening judging by the Cerebro unit. She's lost her Druid powers. We need to get to them before Mr. Draygon discovers what's going on."

"Druid powers? You've flipped your lid, Mr. McCoy. Jessica's a normal mutant. Well, as normal as a mutant can be anyway. She doesn't have any Celtic powers." Rousing himself from his amazement at the illogical behavior of that intangible force called magic; Beast led his three tired charges back to the Wyvern.

Wolverine and Cyclopes ran over to where the dragon had fallen just seconds before Nesson, Trecia, and their allies had been sucked away from them. Silently both men prayed that this meant Talon and the others had been successful. Wolverine frowned at the scent that met his nose… blood and death.

Renegade lay on her right side, head resting on her arm as if in sleep. Her left side was bloodied, but bound in some strange looking leaves. She shifted slightly, wincing as she opened her eyes. With a belch she mumbled, "Man that was some wicked Chinese food."

Cyclopes chuckled and offered the female a hand up. "How are you feeling, Rhiannon?"

Renegade gave him a confused look. "Um, sir, I'm Renegade, remember? Wildcat One or Two… don't remember which. You feelin' alright?"

Wolverine touched the leaves on her side and stepped back as she jumped.

"Hey! What the Hades was that for, Logan?"

"Let's get you home, Renegade. I'm sure Talon is lookin' for ya."

The female nodded. "Sure. Anyone want to tell me what just happened?"

"On the way back home, Ren," Wolverine promised.

Safe in the interior of the Black Bird, Wolverine related what he knew of their strange adventure. Renegade smiled at him. "I never knew you had it in you, Logan. That's a great story."

Logan glared at her. "What's wrong with you, Gade? It ain't no story. You were in it with me. I wasn't imagining those Hell-bound creatures trying to suck my soul out. I wasn't dreaming when they made me… relive Mariko begging me to kill her. I certainly didn't dream Talon's being able to read cuts in people's skin. I didn't dream up that creepy poem she spoke over the radio that made that elf reveal who…"

"Elf! Logan what have you been drinking?"

"I ain't lyin' and I haven't been drinkin anything, yet. You were the one who wanted to know." He roared, getting angry. "You were acting like you were somebody else and yet you had more of a grip on your true self than your cousin did. The last time I saw her she was… different. I mean really different. I mean, well. She could've passed for a princess or or a nun but she wasn't afraid to fight not even that centaur chemist."

Renegade finally stopped looking at him as though he had two heads and sighed. "Okay. First stop yelling before I stuff your face with my fist. I've got a headache bigger than Texas."

Wolverine sighed, seeking to get his temper in hand. "I've been… a lot of people in my life and I've worn a lot of hats. I can never remember everything but… a little of them all is still there. What ever Talon did must've sealed up the tear for good. When it did, it sort of erased everything about Rhiannon's memories but it didn't erase them from the rest of our minds. Trust me, it all happened."

Renegade met his blue gaze and nodded. "You've never lied to me. I wonder how much of my cousin's left."

Wolverine smiled, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "All of her and none of Talon Eagle. She might be disoriented and a little scatter-brained." He grinned. "She's always been that way outside of battle. She'll be okay. Now let's have a game of cards."

"What?" Jessica said, glaring at him again. "Everything on me hurts and you're wanting to…"

"You need to move. Your healing powers need a jumpstart seeing as you're almost out of energy." He said, reaching under the armrest of his chair and producing a deck. He grinned savagely. "Dare to go against me? I've built up a hidden mint."

Renegade held up her palms. "What have I got to lose?"

The trip back to the Institute was a blur to Talon. The moment she sank into her seat, the world seemed to turn off. The only thing she remembered was Fur Ball's hand experimentally caressing the top of her head. She was too tired to put up any serious resistance. Fur Ball was secretly relieved she couldn't hurt him. Ice smiled silently at them. "You missed it. Leslie was in rare form back there. I'm not sure whether that's good or bad but it got the job done. I still think that was a really stupid idea to just pull off the scale. She could've asked, um very politely." Ice paused. It was always hard for the young man to express himself to his elders. Fur Ball supposed it was a Chinese thing, a fear of losing face in front of a senior warrior. "Jase, I'm sorry for how I acted back there. If I hadn't spent all that time blabbering at you about what you should and shouldn't do we might've…"

"Kim? It's okay. Talon was once your leader when you were part of the Cane-stirs. I wasn't thinking about that I was only thinking of… Um." The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He realized he had special feelings for a woman who no longer existed. This was Talon, Renegade's cousin. She had been the first student of Wind Star and the leader of a team of space-bound misfits who died trying to save a colony of rogue telepath. Only she and Renegade were left of them all. "Something else." He finished lamely. Ice watched him for a minute and decided by his pained expression it was better to leave him to his thoughts.

At the Institute, the other Ex-men stood pacing nervously outside the hanger as two trails of smoke streaked across the predawn sky and merged. "They're coming!" Storm boomed in her deep voice getting everyone's attention. One after the other the two jets touched down and the Black Bird de-cloaked.

"cykey-cloppies!" screamed Nadia Herchanko as the red-eyed Ex-man staggered from the jet. Everyone rushed forward all talking at once.

"Where did you go?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Where's Trecia?"

"What's with the news out of China?"

"What happened?"

Hey! Hey!! That's enough!" Cyclops barked. "I've got sleeping injured on this plane and I do not want them disturbed. Got it?" everyone backed off and fell silent.

Noticing the absence of engine sounds, Talon woke up to hear Ice fumbling with his restraints and kicking Fur Ball in the ankle. He woke up with a jerk and cleared his throat. "Mmmmm. We're here." He yawned and looked over at Talon beside him who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The inner cabin lights reflected off the brightness of the wound she'd received from the dragon. The irregular gash seemed longer now, running from the top of her hand to the off side of her elbow. In fact it didn't look like tooth marks at all. Now it had definition, curves and loops and deep dots. It looked like… "Letters. The On'Yun'Vo." The scratches were bright, new.

At last Talon seemed to come to her senses. "The what? Is that some kind of Cajon soup?" Fur Ball was struggling how to answer when a commotion at the front of the Wyvern spared him the chore.

"You shouldn't be moving yet." Beast was shouting.

"Lay off, Dad. She knows what she's doing."

"Logan's right. Sorry Beast. I shouldn't be breathing if you want to get technical now get out of my way. I want to see her."

"I'm comin' with ya. I've had enough of listenin' to Dad. Come on." Talon blinked as the voices connected with very dear friends and kin of hers. What was all the worry about?

"Gade wait! I don't have a good grip on ya. Wait." Wolverine yelled. Stumbling feet came down the carpeted isle and at last gave in front of them. Furball lunged and caught her gently.

Talon was now fully awake. "Renegade! Wolverine! What's…?"

Now Wolverine was with them, looking down nervously at Renegade as he spoke to Talon. "Hi, Kid. You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Why is everybody so worried about me? What about you guys? Are you okay?" Talon asked with another huge yawn. She slowly sank to the floor next to her cousin. "Renegade? "

Renegade reached out and took her right hand reassuringly. Talon didn't miss how scratched and scraped up it was. Had there been a battle? "I'll be fine. I just need to move around. I had to see if you were…" Her eyes fell on the dried scabby characters partially hidden by Talon's jacket sleeve. "O… Kay." She said her voice trailing. Carefully, she took her wrist and moved it aside. Talon flinched a little but didn't say anything. "What is that?" She asked.

Fur Ball put a finger to his lips. "A riddle that's better left unanswered. She'll always have the scar, but at least—at least she can't remember." Wolverine was on the verge of asking a question, but remembering the sight of the dying green dragon, he chose not to. What else had died in that moment? He wasn't given to philosophy but he knew that if Rhiannon gave up her life, Talon Eagle probably did the same. His keen eyes fell on the writing on Talon's arm and he sighed. This was truly a riddle with no answer.

Unable to put his complicated feelings into words he just let it go. "Let's go. Beast wants to get you two checked out." Talon got up, helping her cousin to her feet. Wolverine came behind them to insure that neither lost their footing along the way.

As Renegade pealed off her blood-soaked clothing in the infirmary, something stung the top of her chest. She reached down expecting to grab some huge creepy-crawly thing that she would squeeze into mush. Instead she found her fingers holding a small carefully made pendant attached to a thin gold chain around her neck. It was formed of beaten gold and had been worked into the shape of a rearing horse. "What the…?" As she stared at the red spot the thing had made in the skin of her chest, she caught the image's full effect. Its ears were pinned, its mane billowing in the wind, its mouth open in a defiant scream of challenge. Despite her tiredness, a new strength coursed through her. Without thinking, she reverted to panther morph, and quietly exited the building. For some reason, being indoors made her nervous now. After catching a rabbit, she climbed a tree outside Talon's bedroom window and curled on a high branch to eat her meal and to watch. _You'll always have the scar. It almost looks like letters or something. My cousin, I don't know why but I feel like your scar and this little gold horse are… connected. Yes. They are. There was a legend. There was a centaur warrior and a powerful priestess and… and her duty was to… I know now. I remember enough. I won't tell you. I won't remind either of us of it, ever. Yet here I am guarding you again. What's going on? It may be just as well that you don't remember. You've always been a person of peace. How we've been friends for so long I'll never know._ She gave a rumbling purr and seemed to smile. _Well I guess we cancel each other out. _Fully healed, she closed her eyes and slept.

At twelve o'clock, Renegade was eating lunch with Wolverine and several of her classmates. She was surprised how natural she felt sitting with them even after all this time. She felt important as younger kids came over to get her autograph and asked her about how it was to fight some of the Ex-men's upper ranking enemies. She wanted to tell them the truth, to hammer home to them the reality in which all mutants lived beyond the walls of the Institute. Being more sensitive these days to children, she told them a slightly gentler but no less gripping version of events. Wolverine kept giving her confused glances but after she elbowed him a few times to keep him quiet he desisted.

"Jessica?" Cyclops said from behind her. "I know you don't have a lot of time right now but there's an opening for field tactical instructor. You really seem to see the ideas of your enemy and with such knowledge, our future team will be even more effective at determining means of either defeating them or making them see reason."

Jessica grinned craftily. _See reason?_ She didn't always do that, preferring like her panther altar self to dive in with both feet and ask questions later. "Uh, wow that's… I'd have to think about it, Cyclops. Don't put me out of the running yet. Let Carole start school in a year or two and we can talk."

After lunch, she followed Wolverine upstairs to start packing. "When I get through in here," she said cautiously. "I'd… I'd like to see it… his grave."

"Oh." Wolverine said his hand on his door knob. "Sure."

"You don't have to go. I'm sure I could find it if you point it out." Jessica said, suddenly becoming uncomfortable with his discomfort. She should've phrased her question differently.

In a few minutes, she let herself into the cemetery and threaded her way between the graves. Never in her life had she imagined how far she would come. From a frightened child being hunted by a laboratory in Ireland to a thriving over-stressed high school student leading a double life. Growing into a proven warrior because of necessity and then slipping naturally (and somewhat painfully) into a soldier. When her body proved unable to handle the work and her mind refused to numb itself to killing another human being, she reverted to civilian life again and finally to motherhood. She wore a lot of hats too, but she had never taken the time to let them all sink in, only living them in their moment and then moving on.

With a gasp, she was in front of it- a beautiful marble monument bathed in afternoon sunlight. She stood there, trying to decide whether to speak or not. It was still so hard to believe he wasn't going to glide up behind her and ask her about her troubles. She sighed. "Well, we meet again, sort of. I'm not eloquent like my cousin and Beast so I'll just say it the best way I can. You weren't the reason I am who I am today, but you helped me to realize I had to stop hiding my nature and make my own way. Nobody else would've taken the time with me to let me see that. They'd all have me believe there was nothing that could be done to help me. Logan would say that too if he could bring himself to say it." She looked toward the basketball court where several kids were deeply engrossed in a game. "So many futures from a common past. Who will shape them? We will get them started. I do want to be a teacher here, but I'm not sure if I'll be the teacher Cyclops wants. I won't kiss up to him. I'll write my own curriculum. If he tries to tell me I'm out of my mind I'll work that much harder to show him otherwise. I've got a plan. It's pretty radical, but it might work. I'll have to have Talon's help with this if she's willing. We need to get some human children into this school. What better way to overcome prejudice than to have to depend on the ones you hate? I'm thinking about putting together a writing contest for grades two through six for human kids from all across the country. They'll have to write an essay on what they would do if they could be ruler of the world. Four winners will be chosen. I'll forewarn their parents that there is some risk involved to cover liabilities and that stupid Safe Mutant issue. This is where the fun starts. They won't see their child get taken in as many mutant children are and subjected to a few modified biological tests. When they recover from the shock, we'll tell them the truth about their goal for the coming year. It'll be a sort of survival training camp without the yelling drill sergeants. If all goes well, we'll have graduates from Project Unity before two thousand twenty." She smiled. "The Senate can say what they want about this place but I'm not changing anything about it. Peace didn't come in your lifetime, but I'll make sure it remains part of the future. Thanks, Professor, for believing in me."

At around three o'clock Fur Ball found Talon wandering around in the pasture. An old mare moved arthritically at her side, shewing away excited young colts when they moved in too close. He'd seen them together in several pictures hung in the trophy case and he knew her name was Nutty Buddy. He sighed as he realized the truth. As Leslie or Talon, she was always alone. He knew she was a team-player, willing to give her life for coexistence with humanity but never getting close to anyone. That was alright. He'd get close to her, or at least he'd try. "Taaaaalon!!" he screamed through cupped hands. "It's time to go! Renegade's already packed and Cyclops is about to give his farewell eulogy lecture symposium sleep inspiring thingyyyyy!" Talon turned toward the exit fence. All he could do was watch her come, and think about how he was going to explain himself to her. He had the five minute walk from the pasture to the auditorium where her classmates were gathering. "Um, Talon? Do you remember anything about the past three days?"

She fiddled with her newly welded cane as she walked along. "No. No I don't remember anything. It's… bothering me. I've got all these scratches and bruises and I have no idea where they came from."

Fur Ball looked desperately up into the trees that shaded the long winding driveway that meandered up from the pasture toward the main entrance. "Well, I'll tell you. We saved a world just the eight of us- you and me and Renegade and Ice and Dad and Cyclops and Wolverine and Trecia."

She looked confused. "Where is Trecia?"

"Well she… didn't make it." He concluded.

Talon looked sad for a minute, then brightened again. "Is it such a surprise that we were able to save a world? We're Ex-men. Tell us we can't do something and we manage to do it almost every time."

Furball clinched his teeth. How he wanted to tell her the truth. As the trees began to thin, he slowed his pace and Talon began to get ahead of him. He knew he'd have to hurry before she got suspicious and tuned him out. "This isn't going to be your only visit is it?"

"Of course not. I'll be annoying you people for a long time if I'm granted tomorrow. I may be an adult now but that doesn't give me the right to turn my back on people who have literally mopped me up off the ground and brought me to life again."

"Did the Ex-men save you too?"

Catching the seriousness in his voice she stopped. _Good. Great. Stay still._

"Saved me? What are you saying?"

"From disappearing when you were a kid. Do you remember being teased and looked down on because you were different?"

"Furball, there's seldom a day I'm not reminded that I am different. It could be in the way people talk to me or turn me down for a job or think I'm a superhero."

"You are."

"Come on you know what I mean? Oo! Look at the blind woman with super-sonic hearing! She walks by open doors and doesn't run into anything. Look at the little blind girl who can tie her shoes and cross the street and go to the bathroom by herself! If I'm so amazing, give me a chance!"

Furball caught the beseeching expression on her face and smiled. "I'd give you a chance."

Talon rolled her right eye at him and started walking ahead of him again. "Jason!"

"No I'm serious. Talon Eagle was strong, but she never had to lose her mother. She never walked into a college classroom or negotiated for a ride to the grocery store or faced building a future that no one wanted her to have. Leslie does that every day."

"Who's Talon Eagle?"

Furball winced at his mistake. If he kept up, he'd soon have the reader of the On'Yun'VO resurrected in a world that would never accept her. "Your… other side." He said quietly. For a minute, she was silent and fur Ball instantly felt worse. It wasn't his mentioning Talon Eagle that did it, but his mentioning her mother which she had never told him about. "I'm… sorry. I really couldn't help it. I'm an empath- not a true telepath like Dad. I can only read emotions. There are some emotionall scars that read as plane as thought. I got it from Mom. I know you're afraid of yourself. I know you're afraid to be all that you are but I've seen enough to know what you're not." He paused. Everything seemed to be flying past them. "I know you're not a quitter. It might… take you a little longer than most but you ultimately get where you're going and you don't stop until you do." Fur Ball suddenly realized they were nearing the doors. "I know it's already too late for this, but I'd like to get to know you better."

Talon was on the top step already and was about to open the door. At this, she paused and looked back at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I… saw you die and I didn't have the chance to tell you. I won't make that mistake again."

Talon suddenly looked withdrawn into herself. "I won't lie to you. I've had a rough life. I don't open up easily."

Furball climbed to the middle step and chuckled. "That makes two of us. I didn't get the nice little watch thingy that changed my appearance when I was in the public school system. I was a real nerd. I used to program the teacher's remote desktop to project rude jokes onto our screens instead of her slides."

"How were you with the ladies Mr. Computer saboteur?" Talon asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Furball looked away. "Well, I wasn't. In junior high they thought I was cute. They called me Elf. High school was bad. The only thing I had going for me was my grades and so I put all of myself into keeping them up. It doesn't help when you've got a well-known doctor for a dad and a mom who lives in an alternate dimension. All my friends were dead writers and I got my kicks trying to make really life-like screen savers. You know where I'm going, right? I know how it is to… live in my head. I know I've lived in a bubble and that my mind has to catch up with my body in terms of age but… there's something about you. Maybe not today, maybe not even this year but when you're ready…" he suddenly lost his nerve and looked down at an ant that was earnestly trying to hide in the groove at the toe of Talon's shoe. He wished he could do that right about now.

Talon smiled, suddenly getting the gist of this conversation. "Maybe not today, but when either of us decide."

Furball let out a humiliated sigh. He didn't want his first essay in his entire dating career to be figured out like an elementary math problem. "Thanks." He said lamely. Before he could embarrass himself further, he stepped past her and opened the door.

They froze in the entrance hall, listening to Cyclops's voice echoing through the building over the PA system. "Oh maaaan!" Talon groaned. "He's started!" The two took the stairs two at a time at a run.

Fin...

Author's note: Hey all, this is the end of the story, but two epilogues will follow. Well, I wouldn't really call them epilogues; they're more like mini monologues from both Jessica's and Leslie's points of view after they got home.


	10. Chapter 10

Reunion

Epilogue 1

Jessica's POV:

"Returning home was difficult for me, even though those I loved the most waited for me with open arms and eager faces. As I knelt down to hug my two little minions I felt again the satisfaction of a job well done. I had helped with saving fantasy and imagination for the world. My daughter would still be able to sit in the living room and have those childish conversations with her dolls – who knows, they could be conversations with her own elf. My son would still take his Legos™ and make a complex transformer from a few simple blocks – perhaps channeling the engineer from his own Cadar-type world. My creative side would still have a release from the harsh reality of this grey man's world. I smiled when I released them to go play and stood up to hug my mate.

I remember a lot from the weekend, but some of it I do wish I could just forget. I won't though. I need to remember. I can never share this with Talo… I mean, Leslie. For the sake of her sanity and the side of my soul that I will never know again, I won't say a word about it again. I was Rhiannon, but that side of me gave her life for a world that I believe we all need to survive.

After I tucked my children in bed that night, I stood out on my porch and stared at the stars. They were the same as always, but tonight they seemed to shine brighter to me.

Throughout all of this I realized that I do wear a lot of hats and that I never have been one to stay under one for long. I was a confused child, a restless high school student, a temporary college go-er, a follower, a leader, a decent soldier, a lover, a fan, and finally a mother. I find the last one the most challenging. Thankfully there's never a dull moment.

My mate came out to join me after an hour and we talked about the more pleasant aspects of my weekend. I do admit I didn't tell him everything, though I should have. Secrets can be very dangerous between couples. As we spoke, I realized that I miss what I did at the Institute. Well, honestly, I miss what we stood for. I miss the exhilaration, the adrenaline rush of fighting for a good cause, and I miss the variety of people. My mate does the same sort of thing, being Army.

Anyway, way off topic. Back to the institute and people in general. Now, I'm not a people person, but I am all for the Golden Rule. Cyclopes will have to wait for me to join them again though. What I do will never truly be understood by those around me, but I can smile and continue because I know I make a difference. My children may seem insignificant in the big picture, but ignorance breeds hate and I will not leave them to become what I fight against. They are beacons in my black world.

I smiled as a motorcyclist passed by and raised his hand in greeting or maybe it was farewell. Either way, there is still good and light in the world.

My name is Jessica Smith, but to a cause near and dear to my heart I become Renegade. And that will continue as long as I have a breath in me."

Author's Note: Mini monologue one done. Expect two in the next couple of days.


	11. Chapter 11

Leslie's POV:

I felt my weight settle on to my feet as I materialized in the living room of my apartment. No one was there. I let my overnight bag slide down my right arm and nearly screamed as the rough strap scraped over the scabs. If the rest of me had been healed by Beast's strenuous efforts in the infirmary, why hadn't he fixed that? I took my things upstairs and sat down at my computer intending to capture my experience only to remember—there was nothing inside to capture. Everything was so… so quiet. I closed my eyes, tracing the middle finger of my left hand over the scratches. There was something familiar about the movement. Start at the hand and go up. Upward, the way of life and order- from the ameba to the elephant. Follow the curves; look for dots or horizontal lines. Why? What had Furball meant when he said he saw me die? More importantly, what had happened to me over those three days that were mysteriously gone from my mind? His words went around and around in my head- "We saved a world the eight of us". What had happened to Trecia and Cassious? Cassious? The name evoked an image. I was a child. I was dreaming I knew. I could feel a blanket wrapped around me and I felt the rumbling purr of a cat at my back. In my mind, a big strong hand held mine gently and guided it carefully over a stone carved with delicate loops and dots and slight curves. Over and over, night after night I was required to identify them. Loops, dots, curves. Without warning like something molded into my spirit it clicked. The On'Yun'Vo. It was the writing of… of another world.

"Talon Eagle." I said to myself in the silence. For a minute I was terrified. Three lives- one lived physically, the other dream, and still another hiding from the Bio Defense Squad while attending school in my hometown collided in my head and I felt as though I were going to split. Suddenly I took a breath and closed my eyes. _Talon Eagle, what ever happened—what ever may happen, I'm here. I'm Leslie. It wasn't too big for you. You helped save a world by giving all that you are. You gave me your strength to conquer a… a white dragon! Amazing! Now… now help me to conquer myself. We'll face our hurtles together. Before you disappear forever, I have one thing to ask you. Lend me Eilsel's memories. Help me to understand what this word is. _I ran my fingers over the characters again. It was like something out of a dream, fading in like some badly tuned radio station, but Talon Eagle was remembering and I was able to keep Leslie quiet long enough to listen. _Materia prima, creation, rebirth, sunlight. _That was the meaning of each of the four characters. _Okay. What else? Come on what does it mean?_ I traced the characters again, and then, I knew._ Dawn. _Dawn. Yes. I understood. My life as a student at the Institute for Higher Learning was over. I was beginning again, and the life ahead of me was a canvas on which to paint entirely new memories.

I suddenly realized something else. I remembered my arrival and being carried into the dining room by Kay and Beast. I remembered Night Crawler's confusion over who the other Braille agenda was for. Unfortunately, I never figured that one out. I remembered praying Nadia Herchanko would morph mosquito and get her irritating shrill voice out of my life for ever. Suddenly, my childhood at the institute flashed back into my head and I found myself laughing. I remembered professor Ex calmly asking Rogue through clenched teeth to please show her "expletive" stupid dog out of the laundry room because his yowling caused him to donate the Ex Mansion to charity on one of his tax forms. I remember being the new kid who got lost trying to find the bathroom ending up in the kitchen. Rooky class eh students were **not** allowed out of bed after nine o'clock and it was something after midnight. I hid behind the pantry door.

Renegade was digging around in the fridge and got clobbered by Gambit and Wolverine over some potato chips and a bag of salami the two claimed to have inscribed with their names.

"But, its, pitch, dark, in, here!" she hollered between them as she was tossed from one to the other. "How, am, I, supposed, to…? Oof!! See?" It was at that moment that Gambit's butt knocked the door away and all of them froze, staring at me.

"It's the kid." Wolverine had said. "She'll rat on us for abusing her class mate." That was the night Renegade and I discovered one another, and the fact that we somehow ended up with the same code name. Wildcat one/two. I got a good gripping shake and a jelly doughnut in exchange for my silence. Unfortunately, when I saw them the next day, I couldn't stop laughing. It took Beast one sweep of my memories to see what was so funny. I ended up with kitchen-cleaning duty for two weeks. I was terrified of Wolverine in those days, probably for good reason. I was so worried he'd attack me in the middle of the night in retribution; I mopped up one of our teachers in mid morph. She ranted at me for three minutes and all I could manage to say was, 'oops'.

There were more serious moments too like the time when Wolverine was recovering from a rare and deadly virus that overcame his phenomenal resistance and left him totally blind for a short time. Budget cuts had left the professor with no funds to bring in a professional to help him adjust to his condition. Knowing him and Daredevil wouldn't get along; he went totally out on a limb and asked me. The professor did his best to talk me out of my fear and explained he was absolutely out of options. Boy was that a challenge! I was eleven then. He was a sight using my extra cane which barely came to the bottom of his chest.

I was a permanent student until nineteen ninety two when I briefly was allowed to go home and see my family. Wind Star found me and from then until my graduation in two thousand, there was constant tension between him and Cyclops as I was bounced from team to team. The professor cared about my future, but he didn't make a fuss about who I chose to train under as long as I did as I was told and wasn't in danger. How I kept it all quiet and together even after the death of my mother in nineteen ninety four, I have no idea.

I remember the death of Sparrow Kon- code name Feather, a five year-old telekinetic whose heart had burst with the effort of holding a burning railway car in mid air over a flooded out train trestle until help could arrive. Of course they had to take their time assessing the situation because mutants were among the injured. Safety first for the human EMT's and all, you know? Her mother and brother were trapped inside along with several other people. It was nearly an hour before the rescue teams dredged the river and found her, her hands still held in the air above her head, her tiny form floating straight up in the murky water. I was the only one awake when they brought the body back. We had been playing catch that morning. She was teasing me by holding the ball up with her mind without having to face me and saying, "It's over here." Then she would turn again and explode with laughter. "No over here!"

So many futures from a common past. We would shape them. We would get them started. Though we would continue to fight for peace individually, in our hearts, we'd always be the Institute for Higher Learning's entering class of nineteen eighty nine. All those moments, (good and bad), would always mean more to me than a hundred future college degrees.

Author's Note: And there you have it. Our story, complete as we see fit to end it. Minor reflections from both characters and individuals from series we used to write and have on our own until we combined and then separated again. It felt good to get back into my love of the X-Men and the missing excitement my cousin added to my writing. I think I might get her started on another one. I do so miss writing with her. Already. For now, I'm off to make peanut butter cookies. zooms out


End file.
